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Fatemeh Salmani, Mohammad Reza Kiani, Mohammad Mohammad Akbari Booreng, Leila Talebzade Shoshtari,
Volume 10, Issue 2 (9-2023)
Volume 10, Issue 2 (9-2023)
Abstract
Background and Purpose: Social media and psychological issues related to it, have attracted increasing attention nowadays and have been the subject of many studies in this field. Meanwhile, Instagram was studied in this research due to its many features and the special attention of young people to this platform. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of body image in using Instagram.
Materials and methods: This correlation study was conducted in a sample of 375 students. Data were collected using “body image” and “use of Instagram” questionnaires.
Findings: According to the results, students used Instagram more than average. They were relatively satisfied with their body image. Also, the results showed that the higher the apparent dissatisfaction and functional interference of the respondents (as components of body image), the higher their use of Instagram.
Conclusion: Due to the increasing popularity of social media, researchers have begun to investigate the possible consequences of this new media format on body image. There are some unique features of social media that distinguish them from traditional media and may help in understanding any effect they may have on body image: 1. Social media such as Instagram have their own users and are very popular among the younger generation. have; 2. People often present an idealized version of themselves on social media, uploading their most attractive images to their profile that can be edited and improved, and deleting any images they find unattractive; 3. Although social media contain images of a range of different types of people (eg, friends, family, strangers, celebrities), they are generally used to interact with peers.
Young people are influenced by three main sources: parents, peers, and media. As a major factor in socialization, parents have a strong influence on their children's body image, and this can be directly or indirectly related to body weight or appearance in general, for example through their comments. As children grow older and enter adolescence, peers play an increasingly important role in body image concerns, especially when intimacy is a necessary component of receiving approval from others. Adolescents learn from their peers what type of body image is associated with popularity and attractiveness. Finally, the media plays a determining role, as young people in the media are often portrayed as attractive and perfectly fit, which may lead to body image concerns among those exposed to them. Past research has shown that certain social media environments, such as Instagram, may be effective in creating feelings of inadequacy and comparing oneself to others in terms of body image.
Instagram contains a plethora of seemingly authentic images, many of which represent body ideals. Physical appearance actually plays an important role on Instagram, and studies have shown that teens and young adults experience distress, body dissatisfaction, and pressure to look perfect on social media. Since Instagram gives its users the opportunity to edit content before posting it on their profile, users tend to resort to behaviors such as image filtering.
Previous studies have emphasized the importance and extent of using social media, especially the Instagram social network, in the world and in Iran, and clearly confirmed the mutual effect of its use with psychological issues, including people's attitudes about their body image among the users of this network. It is important to note that most researches have focused on the role of using Instagram on psychological variables, but this research focused on the role of body image variable on the use of Instagram. Although two-way relationship is tested in correlation studies, the goal of the researchers in terms of predictor variables and criteria determines the direction of the analysis. Based on this, this research sought to determine the relationship between the body image of the studied community and the use of Instagram after examining the status of the variables of Instagram use and body image among the subjects under study ( University of Birjand students)?
Instagram is a visual program that has given its users the ability to send photos, videos, selfies, live broadcasts, and in addition has created the necessary interaction so that users can react to the stories and posts of their followers. The many features of this platform and its attractiveness for young people made the community under study of this research to show high statistics of using this media (based on the results of the first question). This issue can provide many opportunities for society's decision makers to use these capabilities in the service of raising the standards of today's social life. Therefore, domestic similar platforms should be strengthened so that they can replace it due to the filtering of this social media. However, due to the international nature of Instagram, it is unlikely that a suitable alternative will be found for it; Therefore, it is suggested to facilitate favorable conditions for students to use this media along with their awareness about its benefits and harms. Because filtering media that is very popular among young people will cause dissatisfaction and hidden and open social aggressions.
Data were collected using body image questionnaires (Littleton et al., 2005) and using Instagram (Lezbna, 2015). The body image questionnaire (Littleton et al., 2005) contains 19 items and uses a Likert scale (scored from 1 meaning never to 5 meaning always). The validity of this questionnaire using the correlation method with the self-report scale of body dysmorphic disorder was reported as 0.83 in the research of Littleton et al. (2005). Also, in a study conducted by Basak Nejad and Ghaffari (2006), the validity of this questionnaire was tested and confirmed using the correlation coefficient between this scale and the fear of negative evaluation of physical appearance (r=0.55). The reliability of the questionnaire in the research of Littleton et al. (2005) was evaluated by the internal consistency method and the Cronbach's alpha coefficient obtained was equal to 0.93. Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the first and second factors was 0.92 and 0.76, respectively, and the correlation coefficient between the two factors (1. apparent dissatisfaction and 2. functional interference) was 0.69. In the research of Rostagarinia and Ali Khademi (2022), the reliability of this questionnaire using Cronbach's alpha method was 0.86 for the entire questionnaire, 0.84 for the first subscale (apparent dissatisfaction) and 0.71 for the second subscale (functional interference). It is reported that it indicates acceptable reliability of the questionnaire. In the present study, Cronbach's alpha of the whole body image questionnaire was 0.88, the first component (appearance dissatisfaction) was 0.84, and the second component (functional interference) was 0.77.
The second questionnaire was the use of Instagram (Lezbna, 2015). This questionnaire contains 13 items and has been used in many personality and clinical research projects due to its high validity (Pouyanfar, 2019). In this research, the validity of this questionnaire was checked and confirmed using the content validity method (subject experts and professors). Lezbana (2015) reported the reliability of this questionnaire using Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.81 and Pouyanfar (2019) 0.83. In the current study, the Cronbach's alpha of the Instagram usage questionnaire was 0.81.
The statistical data analysis of this research was done using descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, tables and graphs) and inferential statistics (including regression tests, Pearson correlation coefficient and one-sample t-________________________________________________________________________
The Journal of Human Information Interaction is supported by Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran.
This work is published under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 license
The statistical data analysis of this research was done using descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, tables and graphs) and inferential statistics (including regression tests, Pearson correlation coefficient and one-sample t-test). The software used for statistical analysis was SPSS version 25. In addition, the normality of the data distribution was confirmed using the Kolomogrov-Smirnov test.
The results of the first question, which asked the students' use of the social network Instagram, were obtained in such a way that the sample T-Tech test showed that the students' use of Instagram, despite being filtered, with an average of 43.53 at the level of 0.01, is significantly higher than The average was 39. The findings showed that most of the respondents (138 people) have been using Instagram for more than 4 years, the respondents spend between 1 and 2 hours on Instagram, the number of posts they share on this platform is less than 10 posts, and according to the results, although They post pictures on Instagram once a month. The respondents checked Instagram sometimes and agreed that they devoted a part of their daily schedule to Instagram and that Instagram was a part of the respondents' daily activities; So that they used Instagram in their free time, at work or class, etc. In the end, the respondents believed that they should be present on Instagram all day and if they are not present, their communication is cut off.
McCormick (2018) believes that Instagram is a social network platform, and the adoption of this program by many users and the use of new technologies in different fields increase the value of this program day by day, and the reason that makes it more attractive to advertisers is the young audience of this program. . According to the latest statistics of the Statista website, users aged 25 to 34 are the largest age group of Instagram users worldwide, followed by people aged 18 to 24, and in the meantime, India is at the top of the list of Instagram users with 201 million Instagram users. . Bolton et al. (2013) concluded that young consumers are a technologically savvy and visually advanced generation, and their adaptability to using technology eases many issues because they are born with the introduction of technology. Starcevich and Konjikoshi (2018) also believe that the young generation has the most participation in social media when compared to previous generations. Other researches inside and outside the country such as Poyanfar (2019); Borbor and Tajik Ismaili (1401); Brati and Atrian (1400); Kapenter et al. (2020); Huang and Chu (2018) have obtained results consistent with the results of this research.
The results of the second question, how do the students perceive their body image? It showed that the students' opinion about the negative image of their own body was significantly lower than the average, in other words, they did not have a very unfavorable image of their appearance. Also, the respondents were rarely dissatisfied with some parts of their appearance, sometimes they spend considerable time in the mirror, they never feel that the people around them have a negative opinion about them, if they are dissatisfied with their appearance, they still participate in social activities, use cosmetics to improve their appearance. They rarely seek approval from others about their appearance, they are not afraid of others finding fault with their appearance, and they do not avoid looking in the mirror. The results of the T-Tech exam of the sample of students regarding their body image with two research components (appearance dissatisfaction and functional interference) are reported with an average level. The results show that the status of students regarding their body image with an average of 41.78 at the level of 0.01 is significantly lower than the average of 57. Also, the state of apparent dissatisfaction of students with an average of 20.93 and functional interference with an average of 20.85 is significant at the level of 0.01 and below the average; Therefore, the students had a relatively positive image of their body. Mohad et al. (2013) in their research, consistent with the current research, concluded that 85% of the respondents are more than average satisfied with their body. In the case of those who had an unfavorable body image, this dissatisfaction with appearance increased the desire to wear makeup. Also, interference in a person's social performance increases both the desire and the practice of makeup. Khodaparast et al. (2019) obtained the average of body image components and compared it with the average, and concluded that the sample people have a positive and favorable view of their body image. Contrary to the present study, Wood-Barkalow et al. (2010) concluded that 12 of the respondents were not satisfied with their body image. It seems that the type of subjects of this study did not have an effect on obtaining these results. Students in an active and rich environment usually receive positive feedback from their friends, and at a young age, due to physical health and vitality, a person's attitude towards his body is more positive than at an older age.
In the research hypothesis, students' body image predicts their use of Instagram. The results were such that in this hypothesis, the components of body image including appearance dissatisfaction and functional interference were considered as predictor variables and Instagram use as criterion variable. The results of the variable correlation test (as a regression assumption) showed that there is a significant relationship between body image and both of its components, i.e., appearance dissatisfaction and functional interference (as a predictor variable) and using Instagram (as a criterion variable) at the level of 0.05. Appearance dissatisfaction and functional interference were the variables entered in the regression equation at the same time, and both variables remained in the model. Chua and Chang's (2016) research showed that people's feedback from peers and society has a significant effect on the dissemination of photos published on Instagram, and functional interference is a predictor of Instagram use. Verastro et al. (2020) conducted a study, and the results showed that people who felt more anxious and uncomfortable about their body image and had more pressure to comply with social media standards were people who edited their pictures and then posted them online. upload, internalize the beauty stereotype suggested by Instagram and use Instagram more. Pedalino and Camrini (2022) obtained results consistent with this research, which was associated with lower levels of body satisfaction in the target population due to the social comparison process of ideal body images shared on the Instagram platform.
Fardouli et al. (2022) used the multiple regression method in their research and the result of their research was also consistent with the present research. Also, Cowles et al. (2023) concluded that participants who spent more time on Instagram had higher levels of body dissatisfaction and more comparisons of physical appearance. In their research, Sohrabzadeh et al. (2018) concluded that there is a significant and direct relationship between body image and the use of Instagram with a correlation coefficient (0.236) and a significance level (0.0001). In addition, Sadeghzadeh et al. (2018) reported in their study that dissatisfaction with body image has a significant and positive relationship with the amount of use of Instagram (r = 0.64, p<0.01).
Materials and methods: This correlation study was conducted in a sample of 375 students. Data were collected using “body image” and “use of Instagram” questionnaires.
Findings: According to the results, students used Instagram more than average. They were relatively satisfied with their body image. Also, the results showed that the higher the apparent dissatisfaction and functional interference of the respondents (as components of body image), the higher their use of Instagram.
Conclusion: Due to the increasing popularity of social media, researchers have begun to investigate the possible consequences of this new media format on body image. There are some unique features of social media that distinguish them from traditional media and may help in understanding any effect they may have on body image: 1. Social media such as Instagram have their own users and are very popular among the younger generation. have; 2. People often present an idealized version of themselves on social media, uploading their most attractive images to their profile that can be edited and improved, and deleting any images they find unattractive; 3. Although social media contain images of a range of different types of people (eg, friends, family, strangers, celebrities), they are generally used to interact with peers.
Young people are influenced by three main sources: parents, peers, and media. As a major factor in socialization, parents have a strong influence on their children's body image, and this can be directly or indirectly related to body weight or appearance in general, for example through their comments. As children grow older and enter adolescence, peers play an increasingly important role in body image concerns, especially when intimacy is a necessary component of receiving approval from others. Adolescents learn from their peers what type of body image is associated with popularity and attractiveness. Finally, the media plays a determining role, as young people in the media are often portrayed as attractive and perfectly fit, which may lead to body image concerns among those exposed to them. Past research has shown that certain social media environments, such as Instagram, may be effective in creating feelings of inadequacy and comparing oneself to others in terms of body image.
Instagram contains a plethora of seemingly authentic images, many of which represent body ideals. Physical appearance actually plays an important role on Instagram, and studies have shown that teens and young adults experience distress, body dissatisfaction, and pressure to look perfect on social media. Since Instagram gives its users the opportunity to edit content before posting it on their profile, users tend to resort to behaviors such as image filtering.
Previous studies have emphasized the importance and extent of using social media, especially the Instagram social network, in the world and in Iran, and clearly confirmed the mutual effect of its use with psychological issues, including people's attitudes about their body image among the users of this network. It is important to note that most researches have focused on the role of using Instagram on psychological variables, but this research focused on the role of body image variable on the use of Instagram. Although two-way relationship is tested in correlation studies, the goal of the researchers in terms of predictor variables and criteria determines the direction of the analysis. Based on this, this research sought to determine the relationship between the body image of the studied community and the use of Instagram after examining the status of the variables of Instagram use and body image among the subjects under study ( University of Birjand students)?
Instagram is a visual program that has given its users the ability to send photos, videos, selfies, live broadcasts, and in addition has created the necessary interaction so that users can react to the stories and posts of their followers. The many features of this platform and its attractiveness for young people made the community under study of this research to show high statistics of using this media (based on the results of the first question). This issue can provide many opportunities for society's decision makers to use these capabilities in the service of raising the standards of today's social life. Therefore, domestic similar platforms should be strengthened so that they can replace it due to the filtering of this social media. However, due to the international nature of Instagram, it is unlikely that a suitable alternative will be found for it; Therefore, it is suggested to facilitate favorable conditions for students to use this media along with their awareness about its benefits and harms. Because filtering media that is very popular among young people will cause dissatisfaction and hidden and open social aggressions.
Data were collected using body image questionnaires (Littleton et al., 2005) and using Instagram (Lezbna, 2015). The body image questionnaire (Littleton et al., 2005) contains 19 items and uses a Likert scale (scored from 1 meaning never to 5 meaning always). The validity of this questionnaire using the correlation method with the self-report scale of body dysmorphic disorder was reported as 0.83 in the research of Littleton et al. (2005). Also, in a study conducted by Basak Nejad and Ghaffari (2006), the validity of this questionnaire was tested and confirmed using the correlation coefficient between this scale and the fear of negative evaluation of physical appearance (r=0.55). The reliability of the questionnaire in the research of Littleton et al. (2005) was evaluated by the internal consistency method and the Cronbach's alpha coefficient obtained was equal to 0.93. Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the first and second factors was 0.92 and 0.76, respectively, and the correlation coefficient between the two factors (1. apparent dissatisfaction and 2. functional interference) was 0.69. In the research of Rostagarinia and Ali Khademi (2022), the reliability of this questionnaire using Cronbach's alpha method was 0.86 for the entire questionnaire, 0.84 for the first subscale (apparent dissatisfaction) and 0.71 for the second subscale (functional interference). It is reported that it indicates acceptable reliability of the questionnaire. In the present study, Cronbach's alpha of the whole body image questionnaire was 0.88, the first component (appearance dissatisfaction) was 0.84, and the second component (functional interference) was 0.77.
The second questionnaire was the use of Instagram (Lezbna, 2015). This questionnaire contains 13 items and has been used in many personality and clinical research projects due to its high validity (Pouyanfar, 2019). In this research, the validity of this questionnaire was checked and confirmed using the content validity method (subject experts and professors). Lezbana (2015) reported the reliability of this questionnaire using Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.81 and Pouyanfar (2019) 0.83. In the current study, the Cronbach's alpha of the Instagram usage questionnaire was 0.81.
The statistical data analysis of this research was done using descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, tables and graphs) and inferential statistics (including regression tests, Pearson correlation coefficient and one-sample t-________________________________________________________________________
The Journal of Human Information Interaction is supported by Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran.
This work is published under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 license
The statistical data analysis of this research was done using descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, tables and graphs) and inferential statistics (including regression tests, Pearson correlation coefficient and one-sample t-test). The software used for statistical analysis was SPSS version 25. In addition, the normality of the data distribution was confirmed using the Kolomogrov-Smirnov test.
The results of the first question, which asked the students' use of the social network Instagram, were obtained in such a way that the sample T-Tech test showed that the students' use of Instagram, despite being filtered, with an average of 43.53 at the level of 0.01, is significantly higher than The average was 39. The findings showed that most of the respondents (138 people) have been using Instagram for more than 4 years, the respondents spend between 1 and 2 hours on Instagram, the number of posts they share on this platform is less than 10 posts, and according to the results, although They post pictures on Instagram once a month. The respondents checked Instagram sometimes and agreed that they devoted a part of their daily schedule to Instagram and that Instagram was a part of the respondents' daily activities; So that they used Instagram in their free time, at work or class, etc. In the end, the respondents believed that they should be present on Instagram all day and if they are not present, their communication is cut off.
McCormick (2018) believes that Instagram is a social network platform, and the adoption of this program by many users and the use of new technologies in different fields increase the value of this program day by day, and the reason that makes it more attractive to advertisers is the young audience of this program. . According to the latest statistics of the Statista website, users aged 25 to 34 are the largest age group of Instagram users worldwide, followed by people aged 18 to 24, and in the meantime, India is at the top of the list of Instagram users with 201 million Instagram users. . Bolton et al. (2013) concluded that young consumers are a technologically savvy and visually advanced generation, and their adaptability to using technology eases many issues because they are born with the introduction of technology. Starcevich and Konjikoshi (2018) also believe that the young generation has the most participation in social media when compared to previous generations. Other researches inside and outside the country such as Poyanfar (2019); Borbor and Tajik Ismaili (1401); Brati and Atrian (1400); Kapenter et al. (2020); Huang and Chu (2018) have obtained results consistent with the results of this research.
The results of the second question, how do the students perceive their body image? It showed that the students' opinion about the negative image of their own body was significantly lower than the average, in other words, they did not have a very unfavorable image of their appearance. Also, the respondents were rarely dissatisfied with some parts of their appearance, sometimes they spend considerable time in the mirror, they never feel that the people around them have a negative opinion about them, if they are dissatisfied with their appearance, they still participate in social activities, use cosmetics to improve their appearance. They rarely seek approval from others about their appearance, they are not afraid of others finding fault with their appearance, and they do not avoid looking in the mirror. The results of the T-Tech exam of the sample of students regarding their body image with two research components (appearance dissatisfaction and functional interference) are reported with an average level. The results show that the status of students regarding their body image with an average of 41.78 at the level of 0.01 is significantly lower than the average of 57. Also, the state of apparent dissatisfaction of students with an average of 20.93 and functional interference with an average of 20.85 is significant at the level of 0.01 and below the average; Therefore, the students had a relatively positive image of their body. Mohad et al. (2013) in their research, consistent with the current research, concluded that 85% of the respondents are more than average satisfied with their body. In the case of those who had an unfavorable body image, this dissatisfaction with appearance increased the desire to wear makeup. Also, interference in a person's social performance increases both the desire and the practice of makeup. Khodaparast et al. (2019) obtained the average of body image components and compared it with the average, and concluded that the sample people have a positive and favorable view of their body image. Contrary to the present study, Wood-Barkalow et al. (2010) concluded that 12 of the respondents were not satisfied with their body image. It seems that the type of subjects of this study did not have an effect on obtaining these results. Students in an active and rich environment usually receive positive feedback from their friends, and at a young age, due to physical health and vitality, a person's attitude towards his body is more positive than at an older age.
In the research hypothesis, students' body image predicts their use of Instagram. The results were such that in this hypothesis, the components of body image including appearance dissatisfaction and functional interference were considered as predictor variables and Instagram use as criterion variable. The results of the variable correlation test (as a regression assumption) showed that there is a significant relationship between body image and both of its components, i.e., appearance dissatisfaction and functional interference (as a predictor variable) and using Instagram (as a criterion variable) at the level of 0.05. Appearance dissatisfaction and functional interference were the variables entered in the regression equation at the same time, and both variables remained in the model. Chua and Chang's (2016) research showed that people's feedback from peers and society has a significant effect on the dissemination of photos published on Instagram, and functional interference is a predictor of Instagram use. Verastro et al. (2020) conducted a study, and the results showed that people who felt more anxious and uncomfortable about their body image and had more pressure to comply with social media standards were people who edited their pictures and then posted them online. upload, internalize the beauty stereotype suggested by Instagram and use Instagram more. Pedalino and Camrini (2022) obtained results consistent with this research, which was associated with lower levels of body satisfaction in the target population due to the social comparison process of ideal body images shared on the Instagram platform.
Fardouli et al. (2022) used the multiple regression method in their research and the result of their research was also consistent with the present research. Also, Cowles et al. (2023) concluded that participants who spent more time on Instagram had higher levels of body dissatisfaction and more comparisons of physical appearance. In their research, Sohrabzadeh et al. (2018) concluded that there is a significant and direct relationship between body image and the use of Instagram with a correlation coefficient (0.236) and a significance level (0.0001). In addition, Sadeghzadeh et al. (2018) reported in their study that dissatisfaction with body image has a significant and positive relationship with the amount of use of Instagram (r = 0.64, p<0.01).
Ebrahim Khalil Abbasi, Alireza Badeleh,
Volume 10, Issue 2 (9-2023)
Volume 10, Issue 2 (9-2023)
Abstract
Objectives: Nowadays, the learning management system is one of the key tools of university education systems. This system increases the efficiency and learning power of students because it activates the students' mind and facilitates the understanding of knowledge. In addition, the use of learning management systems increases students' motivation for active learning and improves their self-confidence in academic exams. Also, these systems reduce the duration of teaching and the workload of teachers and are effective on students' visual literacy.
The design of learning management systems is the result of the collaboration of educational experts and software engineers, who identify the required capabilities and the expected service quality by considering various psychological, social, cultural, educational, and technical aspects. These capabilities and qualities are the basis of the software design of the system that is ultimately used by students and teachers, and the success and failure of the system largely depends on their satisfaction. Therefore, knowing the expectations of students, teachers, and other users using learning management systems and then implementing these expectations in the design and development of these systems is of key importance.
In Farhangian University, education is based on physical and online education, and some university courses have been always held online. Therefore, designing and implementing effective online education software is a high priority for Farhangian University. In addition, the use of information and communication technologies in education is one of the values highly highlighted in the document of Fundamental Evolution of Education.
We identified only a few research that has been conducted to study the expectations of Farhangian University teachers from learning management systems. To fill this gap, in this article we aim at understanding the expectations of teachers of Farhangian University from the learning management systems. Our main objectives are to find out to what extent the teachers feel satisfied with using these systems, what software features of these systems are highly requested by the teachers, what are the main defects the teachers have observed in these systems, and what are the main values of using these systems for education.
Methodology: The research method of this research is based on the qualitative research method of content analysis with comparative categorisation approach to identify and represent the experiences and expectations of Farhangian University teachers from the university's learning management system. For more interaction with the teachers, the interview method was used to gather their expectations, in which they answered the questions of a pre-designed interview. The interview questions were finalized after applying the opinions of some experts in software, educational sciences, and educational technology. The statistical population of the research was all teachers and lecturers of Farhangian University in the academic year 1402-1401. In this research, teachers who had practical and useful experiences in organizing online classes as well as who were experts in this field were invited for an interview, and 12 colleagues declared their presence for the interview. The authors conducted the interview process in parallel and then jointly completed the data forms. Qualitative interviews were conducted in accordance with its standards in a time between 30 to 60 minutes, physically on site or online on the platform of social networks. First, the aim of the interview and its topic were explained to each interviewee and then the interview was conducted. Considering the semi-structured nature of the interview, in addition to the pre-designed questions, other related questions were also asked to clarify the meaning of the answers during the interview. Also, the authors used some examples when there were ambiguities between the interviewer and the participated teachers.In this research, to analyze the data obtained from the interviews, three types of coding including open coding, axial coding, and selective coding were used. In the open coding, the main sentences related to the topic of the research were extracted from the data forms and recorded as primary codes. Then, the created codes were placed in a category based on the similarities. In the stage of axial coding, the primary codes and categories that were created in the open coding were compared with each other and similar items were merged and finally the axial categories were extracted. Then, for similar codes that were placed in the same category, by doing this process, several main topics were obtained that show the main basis of the interviews. If there is an equivalent standard or term for a subject in the field of education or software engineering, that equivalent and definition has been used in the article. Selective coding, based on the results of open coding and axial coding, defines the final framework of categories. The synthesised results then are reported in this article.
Findings: The results show that half of the teachers are satisfied with the learning management systems, three teachers are with relative satisfaction, and the remaining three are unsatisfied. Regarding the expected software features from these systems, we categorised the identified features into two main categories namely generic and user-interface-specific features. Because the participants in the interview do not have specialized knowledge of software engineering, in responding to their expectations from the systems, they expressed a combination of capabilities, quality attributes, and other requirements. Therefore, capability in this research means the general requirements of the participants, which can be a functional requirement, non-functional requirement (quality attributes), software capability restrictions, or a combination of them.Assisting teachers during the online class, learnability, usability, adaptability, error detection and prevention, facilitating the interaction between teachers and students are examples of the generic software features expected by the teachers. The participants also expect that the system provides them information of any events and tasks being progressed. In addition, they expect the system should be flexible and extendable enough so that they can add new tasks and generate new reports.In terms of the user-interface-specific features, the teachers expect the systems provide hedonic, simple, and customisable user interface. They also expect easy access to the system features. In addition, better content representation is another requirement the teacher expressed. The defects observed by the teachers are also categorised in generic and user-interface-specific defects. As for the generic defects, the teachers reported that it is not easy to learn the learning management systems. They also complained about the audio and video latency during the online classes. Another defect reported is that performing some tasks is time consuming which requires going through several steps. Poor and busy user interfaces are main defects reported by most of the teachers regarding the interface of the learning management systems. Inconsistent representation of the application in the mobile devices is another user interface defect. We have also understood that better time management, improved social interaction, and decreased stress of using information and communication technologies for education are the main values indicated by the teachers as the consequences of using the learning management systems. Being respectful and self-disciplined are other values reported by the teachers.
Conclusion: It can be concluded that despite the good features of learning management systems and the teachers’ relative satisfaction with them, there is a need for these systems to be flexible according to the needs of users and give the teachers more control on the education process. Also, interaction with students and features that improve people's participation in the education process are among the most important expectations of teachers from these systems. Moreover, the user interface of learning management systems is very important for teachers because it provides their interaction with students. Teachers expect to be able to adapt the system and especially their user interface according to their needs and add new features at the lowest cost.
We also synthesized several design guidelines for the system developers. The system should provide support for both expert and novice teachers. Expert teachers expect more customization capabilities and novice teachers expect more advice and automatic error handling. Moreover, the system should help the novice teacher to be experienced in using the system continuously. As each teacher has his/her own teaching strategy, another guideline is to design the system so that each teacher takes control on the education and teaching process individually.
Since an online learning system is an interactive application, its user interface design is very important. User-friendly and customisable user interface which nicely represented in different devices with different resolutions is a high priority guideline. This design guideline becomes even more important when we know that most of the students use their mobile phones for participating in online classes. We finally highlighted the importance of considering values in the design and development of learning management systems. In these systems, capabilities such as speaking in turn, the need to obtain permission to speak, remaining silent when others are speaking, and being neat during online presentation are aspects of respect. Their accomplishment, therefore, requires relevant software features. Moreover, the interaction between teachers and students necessitates establishment of ethical rules and standards to be respected by the users and the software. The privacy and security are two important subjects that requires more attention in learning management systems.
The design of learning management systems is the result of the collaboration of educational experts and software engineers, who identify the required capabilities and the expected service quality by considering various psychological, social, cultural, educational, and technical aspects. These capabilities and qualities are the basis of the software design of the system that is ultimately used by students and teachers, and the success and failure of the system largely depends on their satisfaction. Therefore, knowing the expectations of students, teachers, and other users using learning management systems and then implementing these expectations in the design and development of these systems is of key importance.
In Farhangian University, education is based on physical and online education, and some university courses have been always held online. Therefore, designing and implementing effective online education software is a high priority for Farhangian University. In addition, the use of information and communication technologies in education is one of the values highly highlighted in the document of Fundamental Evolution of Education.
We identified only a few research that has been conducted to study the expectations of Farhangian University teachers from learning management systems. To fill this gap, in this article we aim at understanding the expectations of teachers of Farhangian University from the learning management systems. Our main objectives are to find out to what extent the teachers feel satisfied with using these systems, what software features of these systems are highly requested by the teachers, what are the main defects the teachers have observed in these systems, and what are the main values of using these systems for education.
Methodology: The research method of this research is based on the qualitative research method of content analysis with comparative categorisation approach to identify and represent the experiences and expectations of Farhangian University teachers from the university's learning management system. For more interaction with the teachers, the interview method was used to gather their expectations, in which they answered the questions of a pre-designed interview. The interview questions were finalized after applying the opinions of some experts in software, educational sciences, and educational technology. The statistical population of the research was all teachers and lecturers of Farhangian University in the academic year 1402-1401. In this research, teachers who had practical and useful experiences in organizing online classes as well as who were experts in this field were invited for an interview, and 12 colleagues declared their presence for the interview. The authors conducted the interview process in parallel and then jointly completed the data forms. Qualitative interviews were conducted in accordance with its standards in a time between 30 to 60 minutes, physically on site or online on the platform of social networks. First, the aim of the interview and its topic were explained to each interviewee and then the interview was conducted. Considering the semi-structured nature of the interview, in addition to the pre-designed questions, other related questions were also asked to clarify the meaning of the answers during the interview. Also, the authors used some examples when there were ambiguities between the interviewer and the participated teachers.In this research, to analyze the data obtained from the interviews, three types of coding including open coding, axial coding, and selective coding were used. In the open coding, the main sentences related to the topic of the research were extracted from the data forms and recorded as primary codes. Then, the created codes were placed in a category based on the similarities. In the stage of axial coding, the primary codes and categories that were created in the open coding were compared with each other and similar items were merged and finally the axial categories were extracted. Then, for similar codes that were placed in the same category, by doing this process, several main topics were obtained that show the main basis of the interviews. If there is an equivalent standard or term for a subject in the field of education or software engineering, that equivalent and definition has been used in the article. Selective coding, based on the results of open coding and axial coding, defines the final framework of categories. The synthesised results then are reported in this article.
Findings: The results show that half of the teachers are satisfied with the learning management systems, three teachers are with relative satisfaction, and the remaining three are unsatisfied. Regarding the expected software features from these systems, we categorised the identified features into two main categories namely generic and user-interface-specific features. Because the participants in the interview do not have specialized knowledge of software engineering, in responding to their expectations from the systems, they expressed a combination of capabilities, quality attributes, and other requirements. Therefore, capability in this research means the general requirements of the participants, which can be a functional requirement, non-functional requirement (quality attributes), software capability restrictions, or a combination of them.Assisting teachers during the online class, learnability, usability, adaptability, error detection and prevention, facilitating the interaction between teachers and students are examples of the generic software features expected by the teachers. The participants also expect that the system provides them information of any events and tasks being progressed. In addition, they expect the system should be flexible and extendable enough so that they can add new tasks and generate new reports.In terms of the user-interface-specific features, the teachers expect the systems provide hedonic, simple, and customisable user interface. They also expect easy access to the system features. In addition, better content representation is another requirement the teacher expressed. The defects observed by the teachers are also categorised in generic and user-interface-specific defects. As for the generic defects, the teachers reported that it is not easy to learn the learning management systems. They also complained about the audio and video latency during the online classes. Another defect reported is that performing some tasks is time consuming which requires going through several steps. Poor and busy user interfaces are main defects reported by most of the teachers regarding the interface of the learning management systems. Inconsistent representation of the application in the mobile devices is another user interface defect. We have also understood that better time management, improved social interaction, and decreased stress of using information and communication technologies for education are the main values indicated by the teachers as the consequences of using the learning management systems. Being respectful and self-disciplined are other values reported by the teachers.
Conclusion: It can be concluded that despite the good features of learning management systems and the teachers’ relative satisfaction with them, there is a need for these systems to be flexible according to the needs of users and give the teachers more control on the education process. Also, interaction with students and features that improve people's participation in the education process are among the most important expectations of teachers from these systems. Moreover, the user interface of learning management systems is very important for teachers because it provides their interaction with students. Teachers expect to be able to adapt the system and especially their user interface according to their needs and add new features at the lowest cost.
We also synthesized several design guidelines for the system developers. The system should provide support for both expert and novice teachers. Expert teachers expect more customization capabilities and novice teachers expect more advice and automatic error handling. Moreover, the system should help the novice teacher to be experienced in using the system continuously. As each teacher has his/her own teaching strategy, another guideline is to design the system so that each teacher takes control on the education and teaching process individually.
Since an online learning system is an interactive application, its user interface design is very important. User-friendly and customisable user interface which nicely represented in different devices with different resolutions is a high priority guideline. This design guideline becomes even more important when we know that most of the students use their mobile phones for participating in online classes. We finally highlighted the importance of considering values in the design and development of learning management systems. In these systems, capabilities such as speaking in turn, the need to obtain permission to speak, remaining silent when others are speaking, and being neat during online presentation are aspects of respect. Their accomplishment, therefore, requires relevant software features. Moreover, the interaction between teachers and students necessitates establishment of ethical rules and standards to be respected by the users and the software. The privacy and security are two important subjects that requires more attention in learning management systems.
Anis Afshoon, Somayeh Ahmadzadeh , Mehdi Etebari ,
Volume 10, Issue 2 (9-2023)
Volume 10, Issue 2 (9-2023)
Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of the current research is the participation of customers in the creation of value, an important issue in the tourism industry, which can be used to increase the quality of services. There are several factors in creating this shared value between the organization and the customer, among which we can mention factors related to the customer and factors related to information technology, both of which will be effective in creating this type of value. Factors related to information technology, tools and technology based on artificial intelligence of the chatbot and factors related to the customer can also be referred to the pleasure-seeking motivation and the customer's understanding of the chatbot technology and the usefulness based on the benefits of using the chatbot. They help to create value, especially the anthropomorphic role of chatbots, which will influence the customer's created values through chatbots. Today, the tourist needs to collect the information he needs based on personal pleasure and benefit more quickly, therefore conversation robots with human-like behavior that will create a sense of trust in the tourist will be the best option for preparing a travel package in a short time. was to create a common value between tourists and tourism. Paying attention to and identifying the factors influencing the creation of shared value in the tourism industry and the intensification of the competitive environment in this area after the Corona era in the form of non-personal and online shopping has been of great importance, hence the main purpose of the research is the anthropomorphic role of chatbots on the creation of shared value. It is from the point of view of pleasure-seeking and useful motives of tourists. Therefore, the sub-objectives of this research are to investigate the effect of customer's hedonistic motives on the creation of shared value in tourism, to investigate the effect of the utility motive on the creation of shared value in tourism, to investigate the use of chatbot technology in the relationship between hedonistic motives and value creation. common in tourism, investigating the use of chatbot technology in the relationship between the motive of usefulness and creating shared value in tourism and investigating the anthropomorphic role of using chatbot technology and creating shared value in tourism.
Method: This research is applied in terms of purpose and descriptive-survey in terms of data collection. In this research, after theoretical studies and a review of previous researches, the theoretical concepts of the research were formulated, and then using the data obtained from the questionnaire, the relationships between the variables, and the extraction of the results of the hypotheses, the path diagrams will be drawn. After defining the equations, modeling will be done in Smartpls 3 software. Thematically, the scope of this research is related to the application of chatbots in tourism businesses. The geographical area of this research is Mehrgan Travel Services Company, Pardis Gesht, Isfahan. The time domain of this research was the summer of 1402. The statistical population in this research are tourists and corporate customers of Mehrgan Travel Services Company, Fardis Gesht, Isfahan City. In the studies related to structural equations, the relationship q < 15 q < n < 5 was usually used to calculate the sample size. Therefore, the sample size was determined based on the number of questions and 14 times the number of questions from the statistical sample and based on available sampling was considered. In this sampling of the statistical population, 300 people were distributed as the sample size of the questionnaire, and after receiving the answer letters, some were unanswered and some were defective, and 280 respondents answered completely and were subjected to statistical analysis. Data collection tools in this research are two library methods including library studies and questionnaire field method. In the required data section, a questionnaire will be used to check the research hypotheses. According to the research variables, the structure of the questionnaire will include questions to evaluate the research variables. In the general questions, it has been tried to collect general and demographic information about the respondents, which includes questions about gender, age, marriage, and history of using the company's services. Specialized questions from the 5-part questionnaire include examining the factors of creating shared value, hedonic motives, utility motives, the use of chatbots, and their humanistic role. In this research, Cronbach's alpha coefficient, combined reliability (CR), and factor loading coefficients were used to determine the reliability of the questionnaire. Data analysis will be done in two descriptive and inferential parts. In the descriptive part, the demographic variables of the respondents to the questionnaire as well as the mean and standard deviation of the research variables will be presented. In the inferential part, the structural equation method will be used to check research hypotheses. Structural equation modeling is a member of the family of statistical models that seeks to describe the relationships between multiple variables. To do this, the SEM structure between the relationships that exist in the set of equations. These equations indicate all the relationships between the structures (dependent and independent variables) involved in the analysis. The data analysis tool will be Smartpls3 software. To examine the conceptual model in the current research, the SEM structural equation modeling method was used. To check the research hypotheses and model analysis, the quality of the model has been checked first. This stage includes measurement models, structural model fitting, and overall model fitting. In the PLS-SEM method, three criteria of reliability, convergent validity, and divergent validity are used to check the fit of measurement models. AVE or average variance criterion was used to check convergent validity. The method used to check divergent validity is the Fornell-Larker method.
In this research, three methods of Cronbach's alpha, composite reliability, and Rho_A reliability were used. To check the significance value of each path, the significance coefficient of T or Z has been used, considering that the confidence coefficient in this research is considered 95%, and the significance value of T for any path that is greater than 1.96 is that path or hypothesis. It is meaningful. In examining the fit of the structural model of this research, the criterion of R2 coefficients known as "determination coefficient" related to endogenous (dependent) hidden variables of the research model was used, and the value of the determination coefficient is that the endogenous variables of the model have a strong influence on their exogenous variables. are acceptable and it indicates the appropriateness of the fit of the structural model. The Q2 criterion shows the predictive power of the research model, and in this research, the Q2 values of the two endogenous variables of the model are around and above the value of 0.35, and they have a strong predictive power of the model.
Conclusion: After examining the hypotheses of the research, in the first hypothesis, hedonistic motivation has a positive and significant effect on the creation of shared value in tourism. In the second hypothesis, the motive of usefulness has a positive and meaningful effect on the creation of common value in tourism. The third hypothesis is the use of chatbots has a mediating role in the relationship between hedonistic motives and the creation of shared value in tourism. The fourth hypothesis is that the use of chatbot technology plays a mediating role in the relationship between motivation-utility and the creation of common value in tourism. The fifth hypothesis of anthropomorphism plays a moderating role in the relationship between the use of chatbots and the creation of shared value in tourism. According to the results obtained from the t-test of the fifth hypothesis, which shows proof of the moderating role of anthropomorphism in the relationship between the use of chatbots and the creation of shared value in tourism, and the lack of research similar to this hypothesis, the innovation of research on the role of anthropomorphism Chatbots were proven to create shared value from the point of view of tourists' hedonistic and useful motives. The use of chatbots in tourism services as a pre-trip consultant, the interaction interface between tourism companies and tourists and customers in this field in booking flights, hotels, visas and preparing travel packages and guiding travelers during the trip, collecting post-trip feedback through a variety of methods. The communication media related to the field of tourism accelerates the quick response to the tourist and reduces additional costs for the company and the tourist. The chatbot creates a pleasant and beneficial travel experience for the tourist and with the valuable information that it transmits to the experts in this field to improve the tourism business, it leads to the creation of common value in tourism and creates a competitive advantage in the tourism industry. The most important factor for the desire of customers to use services and to move towards brands. Considering the importance of motivations and providing conditions to make the services and purchase process look attractive, customers can be encouraged to cooperate and participate with the brand and create value for the company in this way. The motivation is sometimes influenced by the psychological stress caused by the unmet needs of consumers and only to enjoy the service or purchase the product, but sometimes it refers to economic factors such as earning profit or economic benefit. Most of the consumers and customers consider the criteria of price against quality when buying goods or services. In fact, customers give importance to economic benefits when purchasing, and one of the most important motivations for their purchase is the motivation to obtain benefits and profits. This type of motivation can encourage customers to interact with the company and create value. Therefore, it can be said that the motive of usefulness can lead to the increase in the creation of the common value of customers. Value can be created by the company and customers and all stakeholders. Meanwhile, information technology can help in creating this common value. Factors related to information technology are tools and technologies that help create value mainly based on artificial intelligence, such as GPT Chat. Service robots or conversational robots are designed to support and provide services to humans through physical and social interactions. Chatbots can increase the customer's enjoyment of shopping or interacting with the company. The possibilities of artificial intelligence and professional application in the chatbot can provide a pleasant environment and an entertaining process for customers when interacting or using the company's services, and this issue can increase the motivation of customers' pleasure. The use of artificial intelligence technology and chatbots can intelligently personalize the behavior and needs of customers and based on that provide appropriate material benefits and benefits such as discount packages or special offers for customers. These types of benefits can encourage customers to offer suggestions or buy and participate or even promote the brand and create value for the company
Samira Daniali, Nosrat Riahinia, Hamzehali Nourmohammadi, Ali Azimi, Omid Safarzadeh,
Volume 10, Issue 2 (9-2023)
Volume 10, Issue 2 (9-2023)
Abstract
purpose: Future research is about identifying, devising, presenting, testing and evaluating possible and probable futures in order to choose the preferred futures based on the values of the society and help to build the most desirable future. The production of science and technology is the most important factor in maintaining the survival, independence and progress of the country and a serious tool for competition in different world arenas. Based on this, the aim of the current research is to identify the factors affecting the growth of scientific products in the field of nuclear science and technology.
Methodology: The method of conducting this research is mixed and exploratory. In the first step, in order to extract the effective factors on the growth of scientific productions in the field of nuclear science and technology, research literature was studied in various sources such as domestic and foreign articles, internet sites, notes, newspapers, etc. And in the next step, interviews were conducted with subject experts to design the questionnaire. The mentioned questionnaire was given to three professors for the pre-examination and was edited based on their suggestions. Finally, after re-studying the theoretical foundations of related researches and applying the opinions of the professors, the questionnaire was edited and sent to the Delphi panel for answering. The statistical population of the present research in the Delphi panel is 13 subject experts in the field of nuclear sciences. To identify and select the statistical sample, the snowball sampling method was used.
Findings: Finally, the results showed that 32 main factors affect the growth of scientific productions in the field of nuclear science and technology. These factors were placed in 5 general categories. Among these 32 factors, 8 factors are related to experimental factors, 7 factors are related to managerial factors, 7 factors are related to cultural and social factors, 6 factors are related to political factors and finally 4 factors are related to financial factors. The Delphi process was completed in three rounds. Every factor that scored above 3 in the third round of Delphi was selected and ranked as an influential factor in its group. Finally, 23 factors managed to score above 3. Of the 23 factors that managed to get a score above 3, 8 factors are related to education, 6 factors are related to social and cultural factors, 4 factors are related to managerial factors, 3 factors are related to political factors, and 2 factors are related to financial factors. All factors related to education managed to get a score above 3, which shows the high impact of education on the growth of scientific productions in the field of nuclear science and technology in the future. The educational factors affecting the future growth of scientific productions in the field of nuclear science and technology are respectively: Increasing the training of laboratory skills (with 4.84 points), increasing the connection between education and research centers with the nuclear industry (with 4.1 points), paying attention to innovation and scientific discoveries in the country (with 3.85 points), strengthening the cycle of science and technology (with 3.75 points), designing specialized training courses (with 3.6 points), increasing scientific cooperation with prominent domestic and foreign scientists in this field (with 3.56 points), improving and improving the performance of the higher education system (with 3.31 points), more access to information sources of other countries in the field Nuclear Science (with 3.2 points)
Conclusion: The results of the future study of factors affecting the growth of nuclear science and technology products showed that education is the most influential factor in the upward growth process of products in this field. Therefore, it is necessary to make necessary policies in the country's education sector to achieve this goal. In general, since future studies provide a structured opportunity to look into the future and examine the role of effective factors in creating the future, it makes it possible to create a favorable perspective for decision makers and policy makers. By identifying and creating new capacities and capabilities, new horizons make it possible to take advantage of opportunities in the future. Moreover, with this approach, the problems and inadequacies caused by the future conditions can be counted and it will be possible to fix them.
Methodology: The method of conducting this research is mixed and exploratory. In the first step, in order to extract the effective factors on the growth of scientific productions in the field of nuclear science and technology, research literature was studied in various sources such as domestic and foreign articles, internet sites, notes, newspapers, etc. And in the next step, interviews were conducted with subject experts to design the questionnaire. The mentioned questionnaire was given to three professors for the pre-examination and was edited based on their suggestions. Finally, after re-studying the theoretical foundations of related researches and applying the opinions of the professors, the questionnaire was edited and sent to the Delphi panel for answering. The statistical population of the present research in the Delphi panel is 13 subject experts in the field of nuclear sciences. To identify and select the statistical sample, the snowball sampling method was used.
Findings: Finally, the results showed that 32 main factors affect the growth of scientific productions in the field of nuclear science and technology. These factors were placed in 5 general categories. Among these 32 factors, 8 factors are related to experimental factors, 7 factors are related to managerial factors, 7 factors are related to cultural and social factors, 6 factors are related to political factors and finally 4 factors are related to financial factors. The Delphi process was completed in three rounds. Every factor that scored above 3 in the third round of Delphi was selected and ranked as an influential factor in its group. Finally, 23 factors managed to score above 3. Of the 23 factors that managed to get a score above 3, 8 factors are related to education, 6 factors are related to social and cultural factors, 4 factors are related to managerial factors, 3 factors are related to political factors, and 2 factors are related to financial factors. All factors related to education managed to get a score above 3, which shows the high impact of education on the growth of scientific productions in the field of nuclear science and technology in the future. The educational factors affecting the future growth of scientific productions in the field of nuclear science and technology are respectively: Increasing the training of laboratory skills (with 4.84 points), increasing the connection between education and research centers with the nuclear industry (with 4.1 points), paying attention to innovation and scientific discoveries in the country (with 3.85 points), strengthening the cycle of science and technology (with 3.75 points), designing specialized training courses (with 3.6 points), increasing scientific cooperation with prominent domestic and foreign scientists in this field (with 3.56 points), improving and improving the performance of the higher education system (with 3.31 points), more access to information sources of other countries in the field Nuclear Science (with 3.2 points)
Conclusion: The results of the future study of factors affecting the growth of nuclear science and technology products showed that education is the most influential factor in the upward growth process of products in this field. Therefore, it is necessary to make necessary policies in the country's education sector to achieve this goal. In general, since future studies provide a structured opportunity to look into the future and examine the role of effective factors in creating the future, it makes it possible to create a favorable perspective for decision makers and policy makers. By identifying and creating new capacities and capabilities, new horizons make it possible to take advantage of opportunities in the future. Moreover, with this approach, the problems and inadequacies caused by the future conditions can be counted and it will be possible to fix them.
Dr Roya Hejazinia, Somayeh Ahmadi,
Volume 10, Issue 3 (11-2023)
Volume 10, Issue 3 (11-2023)
Abstract
Introduction: In contemporary society, the pervasive integration of information technology into the fabric of human existence has become a focal point for many healthcare service providers. This phenomenon has ignited significant interest and exploration, primarily due to the widespread embrace of innovative service models within the health sector. The advent of information technology has ushered in a transformative era, redefining the landscape of healthcare delivery. Adopting novel service styles has emerged as a cornerstone in enhancing the efficiency, accessibility, and overall quality of healthcare services. Electronic health records, telemedicine, and health monitoring applications are myriad manifestations of this technological revolution. These advancements streamline administrative processes and facilitate seamless communication between healthcare professionals and patients. Moreover, integrating data analytics and artificial intelligence has empowered healthcare providers with valuable insights, enabling personalized and proactive approaches to patient care. As technology advances, the symbiotic relationship between information technology and healthcare is poised to revolutionize the industry, fostering a future where precision medicine, remote patient monitoring, and virtual consultations become integral components of a patient-centric and technologically enriched healthcare ecosystem. This paradigm shift holds the promise of not only improving health outcomes but also democratizing access to quality healthcare services on a global scale. Among the various information technology facilities, social media, particularly social networks, is increasingly utilized by individuals and groups of varying types. Despite crises like the COVID-19 pandemic, service providers have been compelled to offer non-presential services by leveraging information technology platforms.
Providing non-presential services, especially in the healthcare sector, plays a crucial role in crises and significantly influences the effectiveness of crisis management. This is evident in how these services efficiently address emerging healthcare needs. Social media, a prominent aspect of information technology, enjoys widespread popularity among individuals from diverse age groups. The extensive reach of social media platforms across various age demographics highlights their pervasive influence and underscores their potential as assertive communication and information dissemination tools during crises. The broad user base of these platforms further enhances their effectiveness in reaching and engaging different segments of the population, thus amplifying their impact on crisis communication and management strategies. The provision of services in a non-presential manner has become increasingly important, particularly in the health and hygiene sector. This is especially true in developing countries with significant disparities in healthcare facilities and uneven access to relevant amenities and professionals. Given the high influence of social media among diverse groups, delivering services through social media platforms has become imperative.
In developing nations, social media platforms are often more accessible and user-friendly than other information technology facilities. As a result, these platforms can serve as practical tools for delivering health services. Addressing these countries' requirements and prerequisites for implementing this technology can significantly contribute to successfully establishing Electronic Health 2.0 services. The current study presents a framework for identifying the requirements for delivering health services through social media platforms (Electronic Health 2.0) in developing countries.
of thematic analysis involved becoming familiar with the data through extensive readings of the text, identifying noteworthy codes by the researcher, generating preliminary codes, transforming the initial codes into organizing Methods: This study was carried out utilizing a qualitative methodology. Thematic analysis was applied to analyze the data at three hierarchical levels: fundamental, organizing, and all-encompassing themes. The process themes, revisiting the codes, and categorizing them into overarching themes. Ultimately, a report presentation was drafted. Moreover, MAXQDA10 software was used for coding to facilitate the data analysis. The research took place over five months (from February 2021 to July 2021) in Iran, a developing country. The necessary data were collected through semi-structured interviews using purposive sampling from a population of IT professionals and researchers in electronic health. This group of experts had criteria such as research experience, academic background (relevant qualifications) , and a work history of over three years in information technology and electronic health. Individuals meeting at least two out of the three criteria were selected from this group. Additionally, the purposive sampling method was employed for the sampling process. Considering theoretical saturation in the twentieth interview and conducting two more interviews to ensure the results, a sample size of 22 participants was deemed sufficient to access the research data effectively.
Findings: In the initial phase, 70 fundamental themes were derived from the analysis of interviews. Subsequently, foundational codes were organized into 13 organizing themes and categorized into five overarching themes. The research results indicate that the requirements for providing healthcare services in the realm of social media (Electronic Health 2.0) for developing countries encompass infrastructural necessities (hardware provisioning and development, software provisioning and development, security provisioning, and data features) , organizational aspects (individual-level and managerial-level issues) , environmental considerations (attention to complexities, institutionalization, and development of the information society) , operational factors (provision and development of regulations, research execution, and development) , and communicative elements (development of interaction and participation, and access development).
The technical requirements for developing Electronic Health 2.0 services in developing countries encompass infrastructure needs, particularly information technology. This is the basis for delivering services in the Electronic Health 2.0 domain. Addressing and developing various hardware requirements for Electronic Health 2.0 services, such as using local data centers for storage, having backup equipment for potential failures, improving bandwidth through fiber optic network development to enhance internet access, facilitating communication tools like smartphones, and emphasizing the use of information systems among healthcare providers are critical hardware needs for Electronic Health 2.0. Providing various applications for developing Electronic Health 2.0 capabilities, such as intelligent domain software for data analysis and service provision based on user activity history, utilizing local social networks for better management and control, and promoting user engagement in these networks, as well as leveraging the latest software advancements like IPv6 and 4G and 5G networks, will have a significant impact. In pursuing Electronic Health 2.0 services, seamless data and information transfer in all formats is essential. Ensuring accurate and up-to-date data transmission requires meticulous attention. Safeguarding data integrity from unauthorized changes is crucial. Security is a paramount requirement in the development of Electronic Health 2.0. The foundation of social media platforms poses significant risks to security and privacy. Therefore, deploying identity verification systems and data encryption is instrumental in preventing unauthorized access. Educating users about security issues, such as social engineering phenomena and various types of malware, is vital.
Environmental requirements for developing Electronic Health 2.0 services in developing countries include community preparedness and strategies for institutionalizing these services. Institutionalization involves fostering trust, diverse media advertising, altering user perceptions, facilitating easy and swift access, delivering services according to user experiences, and creating a positive service experience. These efforts culminate in the institutionalization of Electronic Health 2.0 services. One of the critical requirements in developing Electronic Health 2.0 is establishing an information society. This involves educating various groups, especially healthcare specialists, to share their information on the Electronic Health 2.0 platform. Encouraging collaboration and sharing information to control information asymmetry contributes to developing an information society. The dynamic environment, characterized by constant technological advancements, poses challenges that require adaptive strategies. Aligning with new changes, addressing economic pressures, delivering cost-effective healthcare services, and relying on local health experts to manage political conditions, such as sanctions, can effectively address these complexities.
The operational requirements for developing Electronic Health 2.0 in developing countries include preparing the necessary legal infrastructure and conducting feasibility research. As Electronic Health 2.0 moves towards a virtual space, designing long-term and short-term programs, revising or formulating new laws, and communicating changes clearly to users become pivotal. Establishing communication standards and guideline principles is highly significant. Research activities and leveraging successful experiences from leading countries in Electronic Health 2.0 are vital requisites. Conducting research, feasibility studies, and designing a maturity model to identify the current and desired state of Electronic Health 2.0 can effectively guide the development of these services. In conclusion, the multifaceted landscape of Electronic Health 2.0 demands a strategic approach to address data transfer, security, environmental readiness, information society development, and operational efficiency in developing countries.
The organizational requirements for advancing Health Informatics 2.0 in developing countries encompass issues related to electronic health service providers. At the managerial level for government service providers, various obligations exist. Among these, crucial considerations include the need for altering existing workflows or designing new processes, transitioning organizational structures towards flat structures to harness all ideas, the significance of managerial support for new service delivery models, periodic evaluations, and facilitating access to data for transparency. Ensuring human resource requirements within Health Informatics 2.0 involves hiring specialized human resources in social media, conducting training courses to enhance electronic literacy, precisely defining responsibilities, and ultimately facilitating organizational learning.
The communication requirements for developing Health Informatics 2.0 in developing countries involve fostering collaboration and communication among diverse groups in the new service delivery paradigm. Establishing mutual and collaborative partnerships in the health sector through social media is considered crucial. The importance of developing collaborations across government and private health sectors is emphasized, enabling increased participation in service provision and involving various health domain experts for collective problem-solving. This approach relies on collective knowledge and facilitates quick feedback on provided services, highlighting the importance of timely responses to inquiries and consultations, along with easy tracking of submitted requests. Facilitating access to health and hygiene experts for consultations, 24/7 access to accurate and up-to-date health information, swift responses to questions and consultations, and ensuring easy tracking of submitted requests are among the essential requirements for E-Health 2.0.
Conclusion: In addressing the myriad challenges faced by developing countries in the realm of healthcare, it is imperative to acknowledge and tackle issues such as unequal access to information and healthcare facilities, socioeconomic class disparities, limited access to specialized medical professionals, and a general lack of awareness among citizens regarding healthcare matters. These challenges collectively hinder the adequate provision of healthcare services in these regions. A pivotal solution to these challenges lies in strategically utilizing information technology infrastructure. In particular, leveraging the high social media penetration rate emerges as a promising avenue for delivering healthcare services to diverse populations. Social media platforms can act as a robust and inclusive medium, bridging gaps in healthcare accessibility and promoting awareness among the populace. To streamline social media integration into healthcare services, an in-depth understanding and application of the Health Informatics 2.0 framework become paramount. This framework encompasses various dimensions, including infrastructural, organizational, operational, environmental, and communicative. By identifying and leveraging these components, policymakers, managers, and planners in developing countries can pave the way for a more seamless incorporation of social media in healthcare strategies. Enhancing access for service recipients is a central aspect of this approach. By doing so, the potential to provide healthcare services extends beyond temporal and spatial constraints. Using social media becomes a catalyst for transcending geographical barriers, offering healthcare solutions to individuals irrespective of their location and the limitations posed by traditional healthcare delivery models. In light of this, developing countries can embark on a trajectory of progress, armed with preparedness and a comprehensive understanding of the Health Informatics 2.0 model. This model serves as a guide, outlining the requirements for successful implementation. The strategic alignment with this model empowers nations to harness the benefits of information technology in healthcare, fostering improved outcomes and accessibility. For the effective implementation of the research outcomes and the successful adoption of Health Informatics 2.0, it is recommended to create awareness and education conditions for service providers and users. Empowering individuals with knowledge about the capabilities and advantages of this innovative healthcare approach is crucial for its widespread acceptance and utilization.
Furthermore, a critical aspect of the research agenda involves directing attention toward formulating or modifying laws governing social media in the healthcare domain. Clear and supportive legal frameworks are essential for the ethical and secure use of social media platforms in healthcare services. Simultaneously, ensuring a robust information technology infrastructure is pivotal for seamlessly integrating these services, ensuring data security, and facilitating efficient healthcare delivery.In conclusion, harnessing information technology, primarily through social media, presents a transformative solution to healthcare challenges in developing countries. Embracing the Health Informatics 2.0 framework, focusing on awareness, education, legal considerations, and infrastructure, nations can facilitate a paradigm shift towards inclusive and accessible healthcare delivery. This comprehensive approach enhances the reach and efficiency of healthcare services and fosters a sustainable foundation for addressing the unique healthcare needs of diverse populations in the developing world.
Providing non-presential services, especially in the healthcare sector, plays a crucial role in crises and significantly influences the effectiveness of crisis management. This is evident in how these services efficiently address emerging healthcare needs. Social media, a prominent aspect of information technology, enjoys widespread popularity among individuals from diverse age groups. The extensive reach of social media platforms across various age demographics highlights their pervasive influence and underscores their potential as assertive communication and information dissemination tools during crises. The broad user base of these platforms further enhances their effectiveness in reaching and engaging different segments of the population, thus amplifying their impact on crisis communication and management strategies. The provision of services in a non-presential manner has become increasingly important, particularly in the health and hygiene sector. This is especially true in developing countries with significant disparities in healthcare facilities and uneven access to relevant amenities and professionals. Given the high influence of social media among diverse groups, delivering services through social media platforms has become imperative.
In developing nations, social media platforms are often more accessible and user-friendly than other information technology facilities. As a result, these platforms can serve as practical tools for delivering health services. Addressing these countries' requirements and prerequisites for implementing this technology can significantly contribute to successfully establishing Electronic Health 2.0 services. The current study presents a framework for identifying the requirements for delivering health services through social media platforms (Electronic Health 2.0) in developing countries.
of thematic analysis involved becoming familiar with the data through extensive readings of the text, identifying noteworthy codes by the researcher, generating preliminary codes, transforming the initial codes into organizing Methods: This study was carried out utilizing a qualitative methodology. Thematic analysis was applied to analyze the data at three hierarchical levels: fundamental, organizing, and all-encompassing themes. The process themes, revisiting the codes, and categorizing them into overarching themes. Ultimately, a report presentation was drafted. Moreover, MAXQDA10 software was used for coding to facilitate the data analysis. The research took place over five months (from February 2021 to July 2021) in Iran, a developing country. The necessary data were collected through semi-structured interviews using purposive sampling from a population of IT professionals and researchers in electronic health. This group of experts had criteria such as research experience, academic background (relevant qualifications) , and a work history of over three years in information technology and electronic health. Individuals meeting at least two out of the three criteria were selected from this group. Additionally, the purposive sampling method was employed for the sampling process. Considering theoretical saturation in the twentieth interview and conducting two more interviews to ensure the results, a sample size of 22 participants was deemed sufficient to access the research data effectively.
Findings: In the initial phase, 70 fundamental themes were derived from the analysis of interviews. Subsequently, foundational codes were organized into 13 organizing themes and categorized into five overarching themes. The research results indicate that the requirements for providing healthcare services in the realm of social media (Electronic Health 2.0) for developing countries encompass infrastructural necessities (hardware provisioning and development, software provisioning and development, security provisioning, and data features) , organizational aspects (individual-level and managerial-level issues) , environmental considerations (attention to complexities, institutionalization, and development of the information society) , operational factors (provision and development of regulations, research execution, and development) , and communicative elements (development of interaction and participation, and access development).
The technical requirements for developing Electronic Health 2.0 services in developing countries encompass infrastructure needs, particularly information technology. This is the basis for delivering services in the Electronic Health 2.0 domain. Addressing and developing various hardware requirements for Electronic Health 2.0 services, such as using local data centers for storage, having backup equipment for potential failures, improving bandwidth through fiber optic network development to enhance internet access, facilitating communication tools like smartphones, and emphasizing the use of information systems among healthcare providers are critical hardware needs for Electronic Health 2.0. Providing various applications for developing Electronic Health 2.0 capabilities, such as intelligent domain software for data analysis and service provision based on user activity history, utilizing local social networks for better management and control, and promoting user engagement in these networks, as well as leveraging the latest software advancements like IPv6 and 4G and 5G networks, will have a significant impact. In pursuing Electronic Health 2.0 services, seamless data and information transfer in all formats is essential. Ensuring accurate and up-to-date data transmission requires meticulous attention. Safeguarding data integrity from unauthorized changes is crucial. Security is a paramount requirement in the development of Electronic Health 2.0. The foundation of social media platforms poses significant risks to security and privacy. Therefore, deploying identity verification systems and data encryption is instrumental in preventing unauthorized access. Educating users about security issues, such as social engineering phenomena and various types of malware, is vital.
Environmental requirements for developing Electronic Health 2.0 services in developing countries include community preparedness and strategies for institutionalizing these services. Institutionalization involves fostering trust, diverse media advertising, altering user perceptions, facilitating easy and swift access, delivering services according to user experiences, and creating a positive service experience. These efforts culminate in the institutionalization of Electronic Health 2.0 services. One of the critical requirements in developing Electronic Health 2.0 is establishing an information society. This involves educating various groups, especially healthcare specialists, to share their information on the Electronic Health 2.0 platform. Encouraging collaboration and sharing information to control information asymmetry contributes to developing an information society. The dynamic environment, characterized by constant technological advancements, poses challenges that require adaptive strategies. Aligning with new changes, addressing economic pressures, delivering cost-effective healthcare services, and relying on local health experts to manage political conditions, such as sanctions, can effectively address these complexities.
The operational requirements for developing Electronic Health 2.0 in developing countries include preparing the necessary legal infrastructure and conducting feasibility research. As Electronic Health 2.0 moves towards a virtual space, designing long-term and short-term programs, revising or formulating new laws, and communicating changes clearly to users become pivotal. Establishing communication standards and guideline principles is highly significant. Research activities and leveraging successful experiences from leading countries in Electronic Health 2.0 are vital requisites. Conducting research, feasibility studies, and designing a maturity model to identify the current and desired state of Electronic Health 2.0 can effectively guide the development of these services. In conclusion, the multifaceted landscape of Electronic Health 2.0 demands a strategic approach to address data transfer, security, environmental readiness, information society development, and operational efficiency in developing countries.
The organizational requirements for advancing Health Informatics 2.0 in developing countries encompass issues related to electronic health service providers. At the managerial level for government service providers, various obligations exist. Among these, crucial considerations include the need for altering existing workflows or designing new processes, transitioning organizational structures towards flat structures to harness all ideas, the significance of managerial support for new service delivery models, periodic evaluations, and facilitating access to data for transparency. Ensuring human resource requirements within Health Informatics 2.0 involves hiring specialized human resources in social media, conducting training courses to enhance electronic literacy, precisely defining responsibilities, and ultimately facilitating organizational learning.
The communication requirements for developing Health Informatics 2.0 in developing countries involve fostering collaboration and communication among diverse groups in the new service delivery paradigm. Establishing mutual and collaborative partnerships in the health sector through social media is considered crucial. The importance of developing collaborations across government and private health sectors is emphasized, enabling increased participation in service provision and involving various health domain experts for collective problem-solving. This approach relies on collective knowledge and facilitates quick feedback on provided services, highlighting the importance of timely responses to inquiries and consultations, along with easy tracking of submitted requests. Facilitating access to health and hygiene experts for consultations, 24/7 access to accurate and up-to-date health information, swift responses to questions and consultations, and ensuring easy tracking of submitted requests are among the essential requirements for E-Health 2.0.
Conclusion: In addressing the myriad challenges faced by developing countries in the realm of healthcare, it is imperative to acknowledge and tackle issues such as unequal access to information and healthcare facilities, socioeconomic class disparities, limited access to specialized medical professionals, and a general lack of awareness among citizens regarding healthcare matters. These challenges collectively hinder the adequate provision of healthcare services in these regions. A pivotal solution to these challenges lies in strategically utilizing information technology infrastructure. In particular, leveraging the high social media penetration rate emerges as a promising avenue for delivering healthcare services to diverse populations. Social media platforms can act as a robust and inclusive medium, bridging gaps in healthcare accessibility and promoting awareness among the populace. To streamline social media integration into healthcare services, an in-depth understanding and application of the Health Informatics 2.0 framework become paramount. This framework encompasses various dimensions, including infrastructural, organizational, operational, environmental, and communicative. By identifying and leveraging these components, policymakers, managers, and planners in developing countries can pave the way for a more seamless incorporation of social media in healthcare strategies. Enhancing access for service recipients is a central aspect of this approach. By doing so, the potential to provide healthcare services extends beyond temporal and spatial constraints. Using social media becomes a catalyst for transcending geographical barriers, offering healthcare solutions to individuals irrespective of their location and the limitations posed by traditional healthcare delivery models. In light of this, developing countries can embark on a trajectory of progress, armed with preparedness and a comprehensive understanding of the Health Informatics 2.0 model. This model serves as a guide, outlining the requirements for successful implementation. The strategic alignment with this model empowers nations to harness the benefits of information technology in healthcare, fostering improved outcomes and accessibility. For the effective implementation of the research outcomes and the successful adoption of Health Informatics 2.0, it is recommended to create awareness and education conditions for service providers and users. Empowering individuals with knowledge about the capabilities and advantages of this innovative healthcare approach is crucial for its widespread acceptance and utilization.
Furthermore, a critical aspect of the research agenda involves directing attention toward formulating or modifying laws governing social media in the healthcare domain. Clear and supportive legal frameworks are essential for the ethical and secure use of social media platforms in healthcare services. Simultaneously, ensuring a robust information technology infrastructure is pivotal for seamlessly integrating these services, ensuring data security, and facilitating efficient healthcare delivery.In conclusion, harnessing information technology, primarily through social media, presents a transformative solution to healthcare challenges in developing countries. Embracing the Health Informatics 2.0 framework, focusing on awareness, education, legal considerations, and infrastructure, nations can facilitate a paradigm shift towards inclusive and accessible healthcare delivery. This comprehensive approach enhances the reach and efficiency of healthcare services and fosters a sustainable foundation for addressing the unique healthcare needs of diverse populations in the developing world.
Mousa Bamir, Associate Professor Maryam Okhvati,
Volume 10, Issue 3 (11-2023)
Volume 10, Issue 3 (11-2023)
Abstract
Introduction: Information behavior is a term used to describe the ways of human interaction with information, especially information search methods, which is intended to understand the relationship between humans and information. Information behavior refers to the complex patterns of human behavior and mutual interactions when searching for any type of information, which leads to information seeking Information seeking, as an information behavior, is a set of activities that are used to meet information needs, information search, information search method and factors affecting information search, and includes two important aspects, information search and information retrieval, which In it, recognition, evaluation and understanding of users' behavior with information needs and their performance in facing information sources, the method of retrieving and accessing information are taken into consideration. Information seeking is a growing behavior that has enabled individuals and organizations to change their information seeking behaviors to meet their needs and users. Searching for information has been studied for years and various definitions and models have been presented for them, which today, with the increase in the number of sources, the number of information systems, the prevalence of social networks, collaborative research and the increase in digital literacy, increase cooperation. International scientific events, multi-specialization of research, increase of work teams, etc. have led to a change in information behavior. Since the type of information behavior has seen many changes as a result of the interactions of existing information carriers and the effects of technology, and is of great importance in today's world, and so far no research has been conducted in the form of a review of information search behaviors, in The world level has not been done, so it is necessary to have a comprehensive research of information search behaviors, all existing studies should be included in one study in order to get a general impression of information search behaviors and their direction. Based on this, the researchers of this research decided to review the studies related to information seeking behaviors, to determine their direction.
Methodology: In order to examine the topic of the research, a narrative review method has been used. Narrative review is one of the important scientific functions that is used to review detailed and comprehensive topics. In fact, a narrative review creates a bridge between a wide and scattered set of articles on a topic or a reader who does not have enough time and resources to follow them. Since in this research, giving meaning to scattered and read sources does not require the study of individual sources, therefore, narrative review is an appropriate method. In this narrative review study, in order to collect data, keywords related to information search behavior in English such as Information seeking behavior, collaborative information seeking, CIS, collaborative information retrieval, CIR, collaborative search, collaborative information behavior, CIB, individual information behavior and IIB and search for Persian articles using keywords, collaborative information search, CIS, collaborative information retrieval, CIR, collaborative search, collaborative sense, collaborative information behavior, CIB, individual information search, and IIB; In the reliable scientific databases and search engines, Web of Science, Pubmed, google scholar, Google SID, Magiran were examined in the period from 1980 to 2023, which 115 studies were obtained in the initial search and after entering the entry criteria and Exclusion, studies that were generally in the field of information seeking behavior were excluded from the study circle and 12 related studies entered the final stage. Then related studies were summarized in terms of concept and findings and categorized and interpreted in the form of individual and collaborative search behavior.
Findings: After searching and selecting related articles, finally analysis was done on twelve articles. What was extracted from the results of this narrative review study, in the general field of information search behavior, in the 4 main axes of individual search behavior, cooperative search behavior, advantages and disadvantages of individual and cooperative search behavior, and the comparison of these two types of information search behavior are described below. This narrative review study was carried out in order to investigate the direction of information behaviors, the findings of this research generally showed that the studies investigated individual and cooperative information behavior and the difference between these two behaviors and the reasons for the direction of individual search behavior. According to the results of studies, one of the types of information search behavior is individual search behavior. As the findings of the research showed, information behaviors have been studied for years and various definitions and models have been presented for them, but in the early stages, in most of these studies, the emphasis was on individual needs and behaviors. It has also been investigated in some studies. Kolthau, by studying the search behavior of high school students, presented a model for individual search behavior. Ellis also presented a model for individual information seeking behavior, which is the result of studying the information seeking behavior of engineers and researchers of an industrial company, which examined the search behavior from an individual point of view. presented, which paid attention to the individual nature of information search. After studying the researches conducted on the information behaviors of engineers, doctors and lawyers, Laki and his colleagues have presented a model for individual information behavior. Another area investigated in the present study was the investigation of collaborative information behavior. The findings of the research showed that in recent years, many researches have been proposed and investigated in the field of collaborative behavior, and they have investigated the motivating factors and obstacles in the collaborative search behavior. In his last work, Shah has introduced participatory search behavior as an interdisciplinary field that is based on participation, human-computer interaction, networks and social media. In another research, the collaborative search behavior in an exploratory search team has been investigated. In this research, three main factors in the collaborative search behavior were identified, which are: repeated communication between team members, division of work and awareness. Karanakaran, with the cooperation of Reddy, has studied the factors inhibiting cooperative behaviors in organizations by using the findings of previous researches. Another area investigated in this research is the difference between individual and collaborative search behavior. The findings of this research showed that both types of search behavior have obstacles and inhibiting factors. The research findings of Karanakaran and Redi have identified the factors of complexity of information needs, lack of sufficient expertise, dispersion of information sources and lack of access to information sources as the advantages of cooperative information behavior. Some studies have also identified the barriers to cooperative information behavior and the lack of spirit of participation, responsibility, and envy of the progress of others is a serious obstacle to any cooperative activity. Another area investigated by the research is the comparison of these two types of information search behavior. The findings of this research showed that the strengths and motivating factors of collaborative search behavior along with the weaknesses of individual search behavior and other stimuli are among the most important differences of this research. There are two types of information search behavior, which has provided the context for the orientation from individual to collaborative search behavior. Reddy and Jansen observed that two main concepts: (a) collaboration (two or more people working together to search for information) and (b) solving an information need as a group; Also, the important role of communication as the first motivating factors has been one of the most important reasons for the direction towards collaborative search. In another study, Kurankaran and colleagues considered the stimuli and technology of information and communication recovery as one of the main motivating factors in directing towards cooperative behavior. Early search behaviors, most of the research activities focused on individual search, but as a number of researchers have stated, the importance of collaboration in organizations is increasing and collaborative information behavior is increasing, and attention is shifting from focusing on individual search to more research. Focused collaborative search. Although there are different views and different vocabulary in the relationship between individual and collaborative search behavior and clear demarcation between these two types of search behavior is still in the early stages and despite some barriers to collaborative search and some strengths of individual search, but stimuli such as The complex nature of information, dispersion of information, lack of specialization, the role of information retrieval technologies, the importance of collaborative aspects of work, time constraints, targeted information search, meaning understanding, information search troubleshooting, workload sharing, sending diverse questions, communication and interaction. , the complexity of information problems, the interdisciplinary nature of information, understanding the behavior of collaborative information in organizations, in turn, are the starting point and the factor of moving from individual search to collaborative search. The researchers believe that, despite the identification of the direction of information behaviors, there are still gaps, and to know how this process is, one should learn about the existing approaches in the field of information systems design and identify the type of information behaviors based on this.Also, there is an urgent need to understand the conceptual characteristics of cooperative search behavior and its supporting technical methods in cooperative activities, because the main characteristics of cooperative information behavior and the activities that lead to cooperative information behavior are still completely unclear.
Conclusion: Early search behaviors, most of the research activities focused on individual search, but as a number of researchers have stated, the importance of collaboration in organizations is increasing and collaborative information behavior is increasing, and attention is shifting from focusing on individual search to more research. Focused collaborative search. However, there are different views and different terminology on the relationship between individual and collaborative search behavior, and a clear demarcation between these two types of search behavior is still in the early stages. The research findings indicated that despite the barriers and benefits of individual and collaborative information seeking behavior, factors such as the complex nature of information, scattered information, lack of expertise, the role of information retrieval technologies, the importance of collaborative aspects of work, time constraints, targeted information seeking, understanding meaning, motivation for collaboration, workload sharing, diversity of requests, communication and interaction, complexity of information problems, interdisciplinary nature of information, and understanding of collaborative information behavior in organizations are motivating factors leading to a shift from individual to collaborative information seeking behavior. Also, there is an urgent need to understand the conceptual characteristics of cooperative search behavior and its supporting technical methods in cooperative activities, because the main characteristics of cooperative information behavior and the activities that lead to cooperative information behavior are still completely unclear.
Methodology: In order to examine the topic of the research, a narrative review method has been used. Narrative review is one of the important scientific functions that is used to review detailed and comprehensive topics. In fact, a narrative review creates a bridge between a wide and scattered set of articles on a topic or a reader who does not have enough time and resources to follow them. Since in this research, giving meaning to scattered and read sources does not require the study of individual sources, therefore, narrative review is an appropriate method. In this narrative review study, in order to collect data, keywords related to information search behavior in English such as Information seeking behavior, collaborative information seeking, CIS, collaborative information retrieval, CIR, collaborative search, collaborative information behavior, CIB, individual information behavior and IIB and search for Persian articles using keywords, collaborative information search, CIS, collaborative information retrieval, CIR, collaborative search, collaborative sense, collaborative information behavior, CIB, individual information search, and IIB; In the reliable scientific databases and search engines, Web of Science, Pubmed, google scholar, Google SID, Magiran were examined in the period from 1980 to 2023, which 115 studies were obtained in the initial search and after entering the entry criteria and Exclusion, studies that were generally in the field of information seeking behavior were excluded from the study circle and 12 related studies entered the final stage. Then related studies were summarized in terms of concept and findings and categorized and interpreted in the form of individual and collaborative search behavior.
Findings: After searching and selecting related articles, finally analysis was done on twelve articles. What was extracted from the results of this narrative review study, in the general field of information search behavior, in the 4 main axes of individual search behavior, cooperative search behavior, advantages and disadvantages of individual and cooperative search behavior, and the comparison of these two types of information search behavior are described below. This narrative review study was carried out in order to investigate the direction of information behaviors, the findings of this research generally showed that the studies investigated individual and cooperative information behavior and the difference between these two behaviors and the reasons for the direction of individual search behavior. According to the results of studies, one of the types of information search behavior is individual search behavior. As the findings of the research showed, information behaviors have been studied for years and various definitions and models have been presented for them, but in the early stages, in most of these studies, the emphasis was on individual needs and behaviors. It has also been investigated in some studies. Kolthau, by studying the search behavior of high school students, presented a model for individual search behavior. Ellis also presented a model for individual information seeking behavior, which is the result of studying the information seeking behavior of engineers and researchers of an industrial company, which examined the search behavior from an individual point of view. presented, which paid attention to the individual nature of information search. After studying the researches conducted on the information behaviors of engineers, doctors and lawyers, Laki and his colleagues have presented a model for individual information behavior. Another area investigated in the present study was the investigation of collaborative information behavior. The findings of the research showed that in recent years, many researches have been proposed and investigated in the field of collaborative behavior, and they have investigated the motivating factors and obstacles in the collaborative search behavior. In his last work, Shah has introduced participatory search behavior as an interdisciplinary field that is based on participation, human-computer interaction, networks and social media. In another research, the collaborative search behavior in an exploratory search team has been investigated. In this research, three main factors in the collaborative search behavior were identified, which are: repeated communication between team members, division of work and awareness. Karanakaran, with the cooperation of Reddy, has studied the factors inhibiting cooperative behaviors in organizations by using the findings of previous researches. Another area investigated in this research is the difference between individual and collaborative search behavior. The findings of this research showed that both types of search behavior have obstacles and inhibiting factors. The research findings of Karanakaran and Redi have identified the factors of complexity of information needs, lack of sufficient expertise, dispersion of information sources and lack of access to information sources as the advantages of cooperative information behavior. Some studies have also identified the barriers to cooperative information behavior and the lack of spirit of participation, responsibility, and envy of the progress of others is a serious obstacle to any cooperative activity. Another area investigated by the research is the comparison of these two types of information search behavior. The findings of this research showed that the strengths and motivating factors of collaborative search behavior along with the weaknesses of individual search behavior and other stimuli are among the most important differences of this research. There are two types of information search behavior, which has provided the context for the orientation from individual to collaborative search behavior. Reddy and Jansen observed that two main concepts: (a) collaboration (two or more people working together to search for information) and (b) solving an information need as a group; Also, the important role of communication as the first motivating factors has been one of the most important reasons for the direction towards collaborative search. In another study, Kurankaran and colleagues considered the stimuli and technology of information and communication recovery as one of the main motivating factors in directing towards cooperative behavior. Early search behaviors, most of the research activities focused on individual search, but as a number of researchers have stated, the importance of collaboration in organizations is increasing and collaborative information behavior is increasing, and attention is shifting from focusing on individual search to more research. Focused collaborative search. Although there are different views and different vocabulary in the relationship between individual and collaborative search behavior and clear demarcation between these two types of search behavior is still in the early stages and despite some barriers to collaborative search and some strengths of individual search, but stimuli such as The complex nature of information, dispersion of information, lack of specialization, the role of information retrieval technologies, the importance of collaborative aspects of work, time constraints, targeted information search, meaning understanding, information search troubleshooting, workload sharing, sending diverse questions, communication and interaction. , the complexity of information problems, the interdisciplinary nature of information, understanding the behavior of collaborative information in organizations, in turn, are the starting point and the factor of moving from individual search to collaborative search. The researchers believe that, despite the identification of the direction of information behaviors, there are still gaps, and to know how this process is, one should learn about the existing approaches in the field of information systems design and identify the type of information behaviors based on this.Also, there is an urgent need to understand the conceptual characteristics of cooperative search behavior and its supporting technical methods in cooperative activities, because the main characteristics of cooperative information behavior and the activities that lead to cooperative information behavior are still completely unclear.
Conclusion: Early search behaviors, most of the research activities focused on individual search, but as a number of researchers have stated, the importance of collaboration in organizations is increasing and collaborative information behavior is increasing, and attention is shifting from focusing on individual search to more research. Focused collaborative search. However, there are different views and different terminology on the relationship between individual and collaborative search behavior, and a clear demarcation between these two types of search behavior is still in the early stages. The research findings indicated that despite the barriers and benefits of individual and collaborative information seeking behavior, factors such as the complex nature of information, scattered information, lack of expertise, the role of information retrieval technologies, the importance of collaborative aspects of work, time constraints, targeted information seeking, understanding meaning, motivation for collaboration, workload sharing, diversity of requests, communication and interaction, complexity of information problems, interdisciplinary nature of information, and understanding of collaborative information behavior in organizations are motivating factors leading to a shift from individual to collaborative information seeking behavior. Also, there is an urgent need to understand the conceptual characteristics of cooperative search behavior and its supporting technical methods in cooperative activities, because the main characteristics of cooperative information behavior and the activities that lead to cooperative information behavior are still completely unclear.
Shahrzad Nasrollahzadeh, Safiyeh Tahmasebi Limooni, Mitra Ghiasi,
Volume 10, Issue 3 (11-2023)
Volume 10, Issue 3 (11-2023)
Abstract
Background and Purpose: Studies show that limited models have been designed to measure women's information sharing behavior, but so far no valid and reliable tool has been provided to measure women's information sharing behavior in information environments. Since knowing and determining the type of information environment and the extent of their use in information sharing behavior is very effective in strengthening information channels, and informal communication is extremely important in scientific relations, and women, as one of the social groups in a prestigious positions in Society; Most of their information needs are met through informal channels of information, so it is necessary to examine women's information environments; Because the identification of these environments is a solid foundation for planning and making changes in the type and manner of presenting macro-policies with the aim of women achieving dignified competencies, and it can also be a way to optimize information environments. Therefore, the purpose of the current research is to construct and validate a questionnaire to analyze the information sharing behavior of women in information environments.
Materials and methods:This research is mixed in terms of applied objective, in terms of exploratory approach, and in terms of data collection method. The statistical population in the qualitative section includes 15 experts and in the quantitative section includes all women (20 years old and above) active members of urban institutional public libraries in the city centers of Mazandaran province, numbering 4936 people. The sample size was 357 people who were selected by proportional stratified random sampling in 1401. The proportional stratified random sampling method has other names such as "matched sampling", "proportionate to volume" and "proportional" method. This method is used when the target population of the research has a heterogeneous and inconsistent structure. Therefore, due to heterogeneous and heterogeneity, in such cases, the research community is divided into different "classes", in fact, by using stratified sampling, the society is divided into homogeneous groups, so that the people in each class are similar and homogeneous. Then, a random sample is selected from each class in proportion to the number of people in the community. In this method, the researcher wants to select the research sample in such a way as to make sure that the subgroups are present in the sample with the same proportion as they exist in the society as representatives of the society. In other words, in this sampling method, the studied community units are grouped into classes that are homogeneous and congruent in terms of variable attributes so that their changes and diversity within the groups are reduced. As a result, groups and classes that have similar characteristics are formed. Then, with this action (dividing the society into homogeneous groups), the number of samples for each group is determined, then by using the simple random sampling method, the required number of people from each group will be selected in proportion. In this research, through stratified sampling, three geographical regions (east, west and center of Mazandaran province) were considered as strata, in such a way that the researcher entered the selected geographical strata after obtaining the necessary permits and filled out the questionnaire as It was randomly distributed among the designated groups. The sample size in this research was selected and precisely determined based on Cochran's formula. . The pattern of information sharing behavior of women in information environments, 34 questions in 10 dimensions of personal and personal motives; spatial factors; time factors; social motives, cultural motives; moral motives; motivation of informational awareness, political motivation; The information sharing environment and information sharing method was designed. Then, in order to analyze the data using statistical techniques and Smart PLS statistical software, content validity ratio and confirmatory factor analysis, instrument validity, check, and finally with Cronbach's alpha method and reliability coefficient. Combined, the reliability of the instrument was determined.
Findings: In the findings of the present research, the results showed that people with different motivations and to meet different needs turn to different information environments. Identifying the most important motivations for using these environments for sharing information can help scientific, educational, cultural and social institutions and especially organizations in charge of scientific and cultural policies in providing the best possible services. Reviewing what was previously discussed, people go to informal information sources such as their family members, relatives, and friends to obtain information. They were very dependent. Lack of access, illiteracy, lack of awareness, unfavorable economic conditions, cultural restrictions, and language or communication barriers have been declared as the main obstacles in obtaining daily information for women. Also, the findings regarding the background factors of women's information environments in information sharing showed that people do not depend on environmental factors and time factors, which were considered as the governing factors in women's information sharing in information environments, to establish social interaction. People are willing to engage in social interaction anywhere, at any time, and at different and unexpected places. When people gather in an information field, they actually participate in social interaction, and conversation about life, generalities, and specific circumstances that lead to unexpected and sometimes purposeful finding of information and formal and informal sharing of information on various topics. In the provided tool, it was found that including "moral", "social", "cultural" and "political" motivations among women can be important factors of information sharing in information environments and it is necessary to observe ethical minimums in information environments. To be Political issues, dimensions and sensitivity to them is another important issue that can be seen in this tool and must be observed by women in information environments and during information sharing. The type and cultural level of people and the sense of security guarantee for women are effective while sharing information in information environments. Therefore, the role of these factors in information sharing in information environments should not be ignored. Because these factors lead to the emergence of planned behaviors by women in information sharing and increase the confidence factor of the abilities of these environments, which ultimately, in this way, they feel satisfied with social interactions and information sharing. Also, based on the results of the research in the presented scale, the direct and indirect planning of discussions and the use of social networks have been approved as strategic factors of information sharing in women's information environments. In fact, the strategic factors of information sharing in women's information environments are a set of reasons that their implementati on and application cause the emergence of information sharing consequences in women's information environments. Environments such as parks or family gatherings are suitable environments for sharing information and experiences. A large part of the information we receive is obtained in a social context and in the form of interaction with familiar people, family members, and friends. In addition, the behavior of sharing information in women's information environments is done through "direct discussions". In social interactions, information is created and shared. Therefore, the most important issue in the information sharing process is effective interactions, and this usually happens through direct (face-to-face) or indirect communication. Formal and informal social interactions between people provide channels for creates information sharing between them. Through social interactions, people find more opportunities to share their information and experiences, and as a result, the flow of information increases. A review of researches shows that obtaining information in any period and for any user under any conditions is one of the main concerns. Because most of the responsibility of the family rests with women, especially regarding health, education and acquiring the necessary skills in household affairs. So they need more information. The sharing of information among women can be effective in raising children and strengthening the foundations of life, which in itself causes the society to flourish and grow more and more. How much the people present in the information environment show enthusiasm towards receiving or providing information is effective in the process of information sharing. Finally, the findings of the research showed that the structure of the pattern of women's information sharing behavior in information environments was confirmed according to the content validity ratio (0.76) and confirmatory factor analysis with the goodness of fit index (GOF) equal to 0.3285. Also, the tool had good reliability with total Cronbach's alpha values (0.988). On the other hand, the results of Figure (1) and Table 4 also show that the 34 items in question can be reduced to 10 factors. The contribution of each factor in explaining the variance of 34 items related to the designed questionnaire is different and decreasing. That is, the first factor has the largest contribution (24.70% with a specific value of 8.40) and the tenth factor with (2.97% and a specific value of 1.01) has the lowest contribution in explaining the variance of these 34 items. In total, all 10 factors have been able to explain 70.40% of the variance of the 34 items related to the designed questionnaire with specific values higher than 1. The results of the independent sample One Sample T-Test also showed that the significance level of the test regarding all the components of women's information sharing in information environments is less than the error level of 0.05% and the average of these variables is 3 (the middle of the Likert scale) 5 options is more and also the upper limit and lower limit of all the variables are both positive values, with confidence above 95%, it can be stated that the information sharing of women in information environments and its components are in a relatively favorable situation.
Conclusion: The scale designed to investigate the information sharing behavior of women in information environments in the work environment has been evaluated as suitable according to the revealed factors, and its use is recommended to measure the information sharing behavior of women in information environments. All criteria of Cronbach's alpha, significance of factor loadings between questions and underlying variables, Composite Reliability (CR), Average Variance Extracted (AVE), and Discriminant validity by Fornell and Larcker method, as well as the appropriateness of the measurement model, indicate that the questionnaire used in this research measures what the researchers are looking for. Therefore, the built tool provides the criteria of the behavior pattern of women's information sharing in information environments to the researchers. The results of the current research showed that people with different motivations and needs turn to different information environments. Identifying the most important motivations for using information environments in sharing information can help scientific, educational, cultural, and social institutions, especially organizations in charge of scientific and cultural policies, provide the best possible services. Discovered factors include:
Individual and personality motivations with sub-factors (personal desire, altruism, individual and personality fit, individual interests, and recognition of personality dimensions to share information between individuals or other; Spatial factors with sub-factors (no place and no need for a specific place for information sharing behavior in information environments); Time factors with sub-factors (timelessness, unplanned and completely accidental occurrence of information sharing behavior in information environments); Social motivations with sub-factors (social interaction, promotion of social status, and the desire to communicate in order to engage in information sharing behavior in information environments); Cultural motivations with sub-factors (people's cultural level, the existence of an information-seeking culture in people and the existence of an information-seeking culture in sharing); Ethical motives with sub-factors (religious and religious considerations in information sharing, interpersonal trust in information sharing, and privacy in information sharing); Information awareness motivation with sub-factors (gaining awareness of the results and consequences of information sharing behavior, information and knowledge sharing, exchange of knowledge and information, exchange of experience and scientific considerations affected by the results and consequences of information sharing in information environments); Political motivation with sub-factors (political issues and sensitivities in society, the existence of a sense of political security in society, the distribution and transfer of political information from one person, group, or organization to another, and the sharing of ideas and thoughts, suggestions, and experiences); Information sharing environment with sub-agents (formal gatherings, friendly meetings and informal gatherings and social networks to share information in information environments) and finally how to share information with sub-agents (direct plan of topics, indirect plan of topics and how to share information in Women's information environments were with information taken from social networks, family periodicals, etc.) , which by measuring in the experimental environment of public libraries of Mazandaran province, while confirming their efficiency in cultural environments, it was determined that the built tools are qualitatively and quantitatively capable has the measurement of the desired variable. Therefore, it is suggested:
Materials and methods:This research is mixed in terms of applied objective, in terms of exploratory approach, and in terms of data collection method. The statistical population in the qualitative section includes 15 experts and in the quantitative section includes all women (20 years old and above) active members of urban institutional public libraries in the city centers of Mazandaran province, numbering 4936 people. The sample size was 357 people who were selected by proportional stratified random sampling in 1401. The proportional stratified random sampling method has other names such as "matched sampling", "proportionate to volume" and "proportional" method. This method is used when the target population of the research has a heterogeneous and inconsistent structure. Therefore, due to heterogeneous and heterogeneity, in such cases, the research community is divided into different "classes", in fact, by using stratified sampling, the society is divided into homogeneous groups, so that the people in each class are similar and homogeneous. Then, a random sample is selected from each class in proportion to the number of people in the community. In this method, the researcher wants to select the research sample in such a way as to make sure that the subgroups are present in the sample with the same proportion as they exist in the society as representatives of the society. In other words, in this sampling method, the studied community units are grouped into classes that are homogeneous and congruent in terms of variable attributes so that their changes and diversity within the groups are reduced. As a result, groups and classes that have similar characteristics are formed. Then, with this action (dividing the society into homogeneous groups), the number of samples for each group is determined, then by using the simple random sampling method, the required number of people from each group will be selected in proportion. In this research, through stratified sampling, three geographical regions (east, west and center of Mazandaran province) were considered as strata, in such a way that the researcher entered the selected geographical strata after obtaining the necessary permits and filled out the questionnaire as It was randomly distributed among the designated groups. The sample size in this research was selected and precisely determined based on Cochran's formula. . The pattern of information sharing behavior of women in information environments, 34 questions in 10 dimensions of personal and personal motives; spatial factors; time factors; social motives, cultural motives; moral motives; motivation of informational awareness, political motivation; The information sharing environment and information sharing method was designed. Then, in order to analyze the data using statistical techniques and Smart PLS statistical software, content validity ratio and confirmatory factor analysis, instrument validity, check, and finally with Cronbach's alpha method and reliability coefficient. Combined, the reliability of the instrument was determined.
Findings: In the findings of the present research, the results showed that people with different motivations and to meet different needs turn to different information environments. Identifying the most important motivations for using these environments for sharing information can help scientific, educational, cultural and social institutions and especially organizations in charge of scientific and cultural policies in providing the best possible services. Reviewing what was previously discussed, people go to informal information sources such as their family members, relatives, and friends to obtain information. They were very dependent. Lack of access, illiteracy, lack of awareness, unfavorable economic conditions, cultural restrictions, and language or communication barriers have been declared as the main obstacles in obtaining daily information for women. Also, the findings regarding the background factors of women's information environments in information sharing showed that people do not depend on environmental factors and time factors, which were considered as the governing factors in women's information sharing in information environments, to establish social interaction. People are willing to engage in social interaction anywhere, at any time, and at different and unexpected places. When people gather in an information field, they actually participate in social interaction, and conversation about life, generalities, and specific circumstances that lead to unexpected and sometimes purposeful finding of information and formal and informal sharing of information on various topics. In the provided tool, it was found that including "moral", "social", "cultural" and "political" motivations among women can be important factors of information sharing in information environments and it is necessary to observe ethical minimums in information environments. To be Political issues, dimensions and sensitivity to them is another important issue that can be seen in this tool and must be observed by women in information environments and during information sharing. The type and cultural level of people and the sense of security guarantee for women are effective while sharing information in information environments. Therefore, the role of these factors in information sharing in information environments should not be ignored. Because these factors lead to the emergence of planned behaviors by women in information sharing and increase the confidence factor of the abilities of these environments, which ultimately, in this way, they feel satisfied with social interactions and information sharing. Also, based on the results of the research in the presented scale, the direct and indirect planning of discussions and the use of social networks have been approved as strategic factors of information sharing in women's information environments. In fact, the strategic factors of information sharing in women's information environments are a set of reasons that their implementati on and application cause the emergence of information sharing consequences in women's information environments. Environments such as parks or family gatherings are suitable environments for sharing information and experiences. A large part of the information we receive is obtained in a social context and in the form of interaction with familiar people, family members, and friends. In addition, the behavior of sharing information in women's information environments is done through "direct discussions". In social interactions, information is created and shared. Therefore, the most important issue in the information sharing process is effective interactions, and this usually happens through direct (face-to-face) or indirect communication. Formal and informal social interactions between people provide channels for creates information sharing between them. Through social interactions, people find more opportunities to share their information and experiences, and as a result, the flow of information increases. A review of researches shows that obtaining information in any period and for any user under any conditions is one of the main concerns. Because most of the responsibility of the family rests with women, especially regarding health, education and acquiring the necessary skills in household affairs. So they need more information. The sharing of information among women can be effective in raising children and strengthening the foundations of life, which in itself causes the society to flourish and grow more and more. How much the people present in the information environment show enthusiasm towards receiving or providing information is effective in the process of information sharing. Finally, the findings of the research showed that the structure of the pattern of women's information sharing behavior in information environments was confirmed according to the content validity ratio (0.76) and confirmatory factor analysis with the goodness of fit index (GOF) equal to 0.3285. Also, the tool had good reliability with total Cronbach's alpha values (0.988). On the other hand, the results of Figure (1) and Table 4 also show that the 34 items in question can be reduced to 10 factors. The contribution of each factor in explaining the variance of 34 items related to the designed questionnaire is different and decreasing. That is, the first factor has the largest contribution (24.70% with a specific value of 8.40) and the tenth factor with (2.97% and a specific value of 1.01) has the lowest contribution in explaining the variance of these 34 items. In total, all 10 factors have been able to explain 70.40% of the variance of the 34 items related to the designed questionnaire with specific values higher than 1. The results of the independent sample One Sample T-Test also showed that the significance level of the test regarding all the components of women's information sharing in information environments is less than the error level of 0.05% and the average of these variables is 3 (the middle of the Likert scale) 5 options is more and also the upper limit and lower limit of all the variables are both positive values, with confidence above 95%, it can be stated that the information sharing of women in information environments and its components are in a relatively favorable situation.
Conclusion: The scale designed to investigate the information sharing behavior of women in information environments in the work environment has been evaluated as suitable according to the revealed factors, and its use is recommended to measure the information sharing behavior of women in information environments. All criteria of Cronbach's alpha, significance of factor loadings between questions and underlying variables, Composite Reliability (CR), Average Variance Extracted (AVE), and Discriminant validity by Fornell and Larcker method, as well as the appropriateness of the measurement model, indicate that the questionnaire used in this research measures what the researchers are looking for. Therefore, the built tool provides the criteria of the behavior pattern of women's information sharing in information environments to the researchers. The results of the current research showed that people with different motivations and needs turn to different information environments. Identifying the most important motivations for using information environments in sharing information can help scientific, educational, cultural, and social institutions, especially organizations in charge of scientific and cultural policies, provide the best possible services. Discovered factors include:
Individual and personality motivations with sub-factors (personal desire, altruism, individual and personality fit, individual interests, and recognition of personality dimensions to share information between individuals or other; Spatial factors with sub-factors (no place and no need for a specific place for information sharing behavior in information environments); Time factors with sub-factors (timelessness, unplanned and completely accidental occurrence of information sharing behavior in information environments); Social motivations with sub-factors (social interaction, promotion of social status, and the desire to communicate in order to engage in information sharing behavior in information environments); Cultural motivations with sub-factors (people's cultural level, the existence of an information-seeking culture in people and the existence of an information-seeking culture in sharing); Ethical motives with sub-factors (religious and religious considerations in information sharing, interpersonal trust in information sharing, and privacy in information sharing); Information awareness motivation with sub-factors (gaining awareness of the results and consequences of information sharing behavior, information and knowledge sharing, exchange of knowledge and information, exchange of experience and scientific considerations affected by the results and consequences of information sharing in information environments); Political motivation with sub-factors (political issues and sensitivities in society, the existence of a sense of political security in society, the distribution and transfer of political information from one person, group, or organization to another, and the sharing of ideas and thoughts, suggestions, and experiences); Information sharing environment with sub-agents (formal gatherings, friendly meetings and informal gatherings and social networks to share information in information environments) and finally how to share information with sub-agents (direct plan of topics, indirect plan of topics and how to share information in Women's information environments were with information taken from social networks, family periodicals, etc.) , which by measuring in the experimental environment of public libraries of Mazandaran province, while confirming their efficiency in cultural environments, it was determined that the built tools are qualitatively and quantitatively capable has the measurement of the desired variable. Therefore, it is suggested:
- Necessary conditions to strengthen information sharing in information environments should be provided.
- New solutions for the optimal management of information sharing in information environments should be considered.
- Ways to create a positive attitude to promote and grow information sharing in information environments should be developed.
- An integrated approach of interaction and optimal communication for information sharing in information environments should be adopted.
- Training and providing all kinds of skills and specialized information for information sharing in information environments are essential.
- Motivating, encouraging, and promoting the use of information environments for information sharing should be prioritized.
- Identifying and determining the levels of access to information in information environments is crucial.
Dr Yazdan Shirmohammadi, Mr Qasem Aryafard,
Volume 10, Issue 3 (11-2023)
Volume 10, Issue 3 (11-2023)
Abstract
purpose: The mobile application market is expanding rapidly. Furthermore, a new form of online-to-offline services available in mobile shopping apps, which help users instantly search for what they want online, try them on in nearby offline stores, and pay online, increasingly becomes popular. As technology is developing rapidly and the smartphone has become an essential part of our daily life, the smartphone is a versatile tool that can perform many functions. Shopping also changes its process from offline to online and is based on mobile. With the increase in the use of the Internet from smartphones, most of the Internet consumption is done through smartphones and not through personal computers as in the past (Kim et al., 2021). In recent years, online to offline has emerged as a new e-commerce model that differs from traditional e-commerce models. In this model, consumers can obtain information, access products through an online channel, and then consume them in offline stores. The rapid development of the online to offline model has led to the rise of online tourism platforms. Some tour operators choose to cooperate with online tourism platforms to sell tourism products with the aim of expanding market demand. In the case of the online-to-offline tourism supply chain, the tourism platform sells its product online and the tour operator provides the service offline. Through division of labor and cooperation, both of them can focus on applying their respective advantages to achieve a win-win situation. With the online-to-offline tourism model, consumers can book tourism products through an online platform anytime, anywhere. Before making a final decision, consumers often review the information displayed on the web page of online tourism platforms, especially the available reviews (Luca and Zervas, 2016, as cited in Zhou et al., 2022). Tourists can gather online information about price, service level, and product quality to make better purchase decisions. This has created many opportunities as well as severe challenges for the survival and growth of tourism-related companies (He et al.,2019). Companies providing online to offline services recognize smartphones as a useful communication channel for strategic marketing, and therefore they are willing to use smartphones to provide various services and types of information directly to customers and constantly reflect their needs (Fuentes & Svingstedt, 2017). Since the online platform is data controlled, so that the information is asymmetric, there will be problems such as fake reviews, rating fraud, false advertising, etc. This phenomenon puts consumers in an unfavorable information situation. According to the "Online Tourism Consumption Trend Report and Consumer Rights Protection Trend Report (2019)", the problems of online tourism platforms are mainly focused on ten aspects, including information leakage, false advertising, tourism products with big data analysis to harm Existing consumer income and data fraud investigation (Zhou et al., 2022). These problems not only affect consumers' tourism experience and reduce consumer satisfaction, but also damage the credibility of the tourism platform and weaken consumers' trust in the platform. Therefore, privacy protection is an important problem in this field. Since online to offline applications in tourism is an emerging and practical issue, it is very important to investigate this issue in our country. Previous studies have largely ignored service quality evaluation and decision-making by traditional travel agencies, hotels, and airlines. Although the importance of service quality in tourism firm development has been demonstrated by some researchers, few have studied the benefits of service quality from online tourism supply chains to offline hospitality and tourism fields for tourists. Also, in the researcher's point of view, the features of mobile shopping applications that are based on online to offline services are questionable as to what features affect the delight and satisfaction of tourists and lead to the brand's reputation. Meanwhile, the influence of the information quality (including the intrinsic information quality and the textual information quality) and the services quality (including the convenient services quality and the accessible services quality) perceived from online to offline mobile shopping applications on the delight of tourists and the reputation of the tourism brand is questionable. The researcher thought that it was not investigated in the previous research and the researcher investigated these issues in this research.
Methodology:Considering that tourism and hotel businesses can easily use online to offline tourism platforms by applying the results of this research to have satisfied and loyal customers, this research is applied in terms of purpose. On the other hand, in this research, the type of relationship and the degree of influence of the variables were described, so the method of doing the work is descriptive and correlational. In fact, the impact of information and service quality on privacy protection, delight, and reputation of tourism brands in mobile shopping applications based on online to offline (O2O) is investigated. A quantitative method was also used to collect data. The statistical population of this research is European tourists who traveled to Iran. Since the target population is unlimited and its exact size is not available, according to Cochran's formula for the unlimited population, 384 people are considered for the sample size. The convenient non-randomly sampling method is a suitable method for sampling. The collection of information takes place in two stages: library and field. By referring to reliable databases, the researcher examines scientific articles, books, dissertations, and theses to prepare the theoretical foundations of his subject. Then, a questionnaire is used to collect the data required by the researcher in the field and survey method. The questionnaire was made by the researcher. The questionnaire includes five demographic questions (gender, age, marital status, education, employment status). 39 items were designed to answer the research questions, which are analyzed with a Likert scale. In the inferential findings section, the pairwise relationships of the variables were evaluated with Pearson correlation test and the conceptual model of the research was tested with structural equation modeling test with AMOS software. Also, mediation relationships were tested using the Sobel method.
Findings: The online-to-offline service platform channels provide tourists with innovative tools to get service information, order travel package online (via apps) and check-in offline almost instantly. The main purpose of this research is to discover the effect of information quality (including intrinsic information quality and contextual information quality) and service quality (including convenient service quality and accessible service quality) perceived from online to offline based mobile shopping applications with perceived privacy protection on the delight of tourists and the reputation of the tourism brand. The findings indicated that the information quality (including the intrinsic information quality and the textual information quality) and the quality of services (including the convenient services quality and the accessible services quality) perceived from online to offline mobile shopping applications with the protection of privacy perceived on the delight of tourists and tourism brand reputation is effective and all hypotheses were confirmed.
Conclusion:In today's world, searching for information online is very important and common for tourists to make decisions. In recent years, online to offline has been used as a new e-commerce model. This research shows that all dimensions of a mobile phone shopping application, such as the information and services quality provided, privacy protection, are effective on delight of tourists and ultimately the brand's reputation. In fact, considering the wide importance of information needed by tourists, the validity of this information, considering the quality of intrinsic and textual information in applications is very important and effective. On the other hand, the quality of the services provided in these types of applications, easier access and their appropriateness are also factors that should be considered in this type of shopping applications. On the other hand, the higher the quality of information and services, the more the privacy of people in the online world is preserved and the delight of tourists increases. This delight of tourists also improves and increases the reputation of the attitudinal and behavioral brand.
This study investigates the impact of information quality including (intrinsic information quality and contextual information quality) and service quality (including the intrinsic information quality and the textual information quality) perceived from online to offline mobile shopping applications on delight of tourists and the behavioral and attitudinal reputation of the tourism brand. For this reason, the research model of Kim et al. (2021) is used, which was added to it with the researcher's innovation of the brand reputation variable. The results showed that the information quality intrinsic information quality and contextual information quality) and service quality (including the intrinsic information quality and the textual information quality) perceived from online to offline mobile shopping applications are effective on the delight of tourists and the behavioral and attitudinal reputation of the tourism brand. This research concludes that the quality of information provided in mobile shopping applications is important for tourists, especially European tourists in Iran. The quality of intrinsic information and the quality of textual information significantly affect tourists' perception of information quality, and this quality of information has an effect on the delight of tourist. Therefore, tourism industry managers should describe their products and services with detailed and accurate information. When providing it in mobile shopping applications, such as online-to-offline platforms, since the accuracy of information is a key feature of inherent information quality, practitioners in this industry must also thoroughly ensure that the data provided is up-to-date and reflect consumption transactions. Also, the results showed that convenience and high accessibility positively increase the perceived service quality of online to offline platforms. Based on this, tourism industry managers should create easier access for services. In particular, since new phone models are released frequently nowadays, mobile shopping applications must have compatible payment systems to remove barriers to tourists' purchases. Therefore, according to the available results, it is only in this case that mobile shopping applications can have high accessibility and convenience to affect the quality of mobile shopping application services. Another thing that was investigated in this research was the protection of privacy. The results show that privacy protection is a very important factor in creating the delight of tourists, this issue is observed in all the countries of the world that have achieved the technology of mobile shopping applications. Unfortunately, today, some technological advances endanger their privacy from the point of view of customers. For example, CCTV cameras, which are in most tourist places and should protect the safety of tourists, can violate their privacy, or artificial intelligence, which has many capabilities, in the view of some people, spies on their information and violates their privacy rights. Therefore, in the researcher's point of view, despite this level of concern in the world, tourists in our country also have concerns about privacy and take into account the care of their privacy when evaluating the quality of online services. As discussed in this study, managers should be confident that their security systems do not violate tourists' privacy to directly contribute to delight of tourist and brand reputation. Based on the results, it can be suggested that high-quality information helps customers who want to effectively find information on a specific topic and helps customers avoid unnecessary efforts to process useless information. Therefore, providing high-quality information can increase the delight of tourist. Tourism booking and review websites need to improve their entertainment element and create a more interactive and interesting experience for those browsing them. The information provided by the websites must be useful and up-to-date, match the needs of the user and provide links to other websites relevant to these users. By informing tourists about developments, sales plans, product updates and any other content they may find interesting and relevant, it helps to improve delight of tourists and ultimately brand reputation. Also, when tourists have a problem, they can be assured that they can talk to a genuine, caring and ideal person in person or on the phone. Even in the digital world, people like to connect with others. Since this research has a new topic in the field of technology in tourism, the researcher recommends that in future researches, this topic should be investigated with other statistical communities such as local tourists, international tourists, specific hotel guests and other sectors.
Aghdas Soleimani, Zohre Kazemi, Mohammad Aghaei, Zahra Ghorbani,
Volume 10, Issue 3 (11-2023)
Volume 10, Issue 3 (11-2023)
Abstract
Purpose: Today, internet-based technologies have brought new transformations to human life. Customers are able to compare products offered by sellers around the world to buy their online products. On the one hand, the widespread use of these technologies provides benefits for online companies that are constantly increasing. The importance of this issue is felt when there is a lot of competition between a large number of similar companies with different types of services. Now, companies are using social media technologies to advertise information about their brands. Social media are a good option for accessing and collecting information from other consumers. These media are widely used for social media marketing and provide various methods for marketers to reach and interact with consumers. Social media marketing refers to "the use of social media technologies, channels, and software to create, deliver, exchange, and provide offerings that have value for the stakeholders of an organization." Online marketing activities lead to the development of knowledge among users, empowering users from predictions about their future businesses, monitoring customer behavior through changes in the content produced, attracting new customers, increasing sales, and fast use and saving time. The goal of social media marketing is to help companies increase market share and customer purchase intention. Today, social media marketing plays a fundamental role in influencing purchase intent due to its ubiquity among consumers. These platforms provide essential information that guides purchase decisions and simplifies decision-making. Purchase intention is an activity in which consumers consider purchasing a product or a service. Purchase intention is the likelihood that a consumer will continue to purchase in the future. Consumer purchase intention can be influenced through the sharing of information or engagement in conversations and comments from other consumers. A strong presence on social media significantly affects purchase intention and builds customer trust. On the other hand, marketers consider brand trust as an important and relevant concept to purchase intention. Brand trust is defined as the willingness of consumers to rely on the power of the brand to fulfill the stated goal and the belief that the brand has the ability to deliver the promised benefits. Studies that have been conducted in the past have stated that brand trust is a precursor to purchase intention. Sung & Kim (2010) and Ellitan, Havina & Lukito (2022) believe that brand trust is considered as a variable that has a significant impact on purchase intention. For many years, brand attitude has been an important topic of research in marketing. Therefore, marketers consider it the most important predictor of consumer behavior towards a product or service. Basically, brand attitude refers to the consistent preference of consumers towards a specific brand and the overall evaluation by the consumer towards the brand. Attitude towards an object (including a brand) includes salient beliefs that are acquired through experience and can fluctuate positively or negatively as a function of past experiences. A favorable attitude towards a brand increases the likelihood of consumers continuing to use it in the future. Consumer attitude typically has a strong influence on their purchase intent. One of the growing global trends in Iran is the increasing demand for luxury goods. The luxury goods market has attracted the attention of researchers and marketing professionals due to its rising growth rate. In 2017, the global market for luxury fashion goods exceeded $1.2 trillion. It is expected that by 2030, approximately 500 million consumers will be luxury fashion customers. Research also shows that about 80% of the global luxury market is influenced by digital technology, and it is expected that online sales of luxury brands will reach 20% of total transactions by 2025. Many luxury brands now have official pages on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, where they publish news about their products and brands. In Iran, luxury fashion brands are trying to achieve profitability by targeting a specific target group. Despite their significant activity on social media, these brands have not been successful in attracting customers through this channel. In addition to increased competition in the domestic market, the import of foreign brands with official dealerships or the entry of these brands and their original counterparts from unconventional channels are serious threats to the Iranian fashion market. Additionally, unofficial pages selling fashion products on social media or the sale of personal luxury products have made these items more accessible to interested individuals and made the competition more difficult. Despite the activities of luxury fashion brands on social media, these activities are not interactive and feedback is not received from customers about the products and services of these brands. As a result, these brands have not been successful in attracting customers, creating positive attitudes, and gaining their trust to the desired extent. Therefore, it is necessary to examine and identify the factors affecting the purchase intention of consumers of luxury clothing brands, including social media marketing, brand attitude, and brand trust, in order to help improve knowledge and improve planning in this field. Despite the importance and expansion of social media marketing in the country, not many studies have been conducted to identify the impact of social media marketing on purchase intention for luxury products. The researchers of this study, after reviewing the research background, found that the role of brand attitude and brand trust in the relationship between social media marketing and customer purchase intention has not been considered in both foreign and domestic research. Given the research gap in this area, the present study investigates the impact of social media marketing on the purchase intention of consumers of luxury clothing brands, taking into account the mediating role of brand trust and brand attitude, which has not been studied before.
Methodology: The present study has a quantitative approach and is applied in terms of purpose. In terms of nature and method of data collection, it is descriptive-survey. The statistical population of this study is all consumers of the luxury brands Paten Jama, Charm Mashhad, Salyan, Denis Trico, and Navin Charm in Iran, who follow the social media pages of these brands. The reason for choosing these brands is that they all have active representative pages on the social media platform Instagram. This is because it makes it possible to identify followers of these brands and people who are attached to these brands. Given the unlimited nature of the statistical population and the lack of access to the entire target population, the sample under study was taken using the available sampling method. In this way, the online questionnaire of the present study was shared with the followers of the Instagram pages of these brands. Due to the unknown size of the population, the sample size was estimated at 385 people using the Cochran formula.The questionnaire for the present study was prepared with 27 questions using a five-point Likert scale. A set of standard questionnaires from previous studies were used to measure the variables under study. The questions for the social media marketing variable were extracted from the standard questionnaire of Cheung, Pires & Rosenberger (2020), the questions related to purchase intention were extracted from the questionnaire of Lakshamana (2018), the questions for the brand attitude variable were extracted from the tool questionnaire of Qasemi and Vesta (2014), and the questions for the brand trust variable were extracted from the research questionnaire of Yazdani, Ronagh, Laqayi and Mostafshar (2019). In this study, the validity of the questionnaire was obtained through expert review. The questionnaire was sent to six experts and university professors who had at least five years of experience in the field of research, and after the necessary modifications, the validity of the questionnaire was confirmed. The reliability of the questionnaire was also obtained using the Cronbach's alpha coefficient. The questionnaire was distributed among 31 people, and a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 92% indicates the appropriate reliability of the questionnaire. In this study, Amos software and path analysis method were used to analyze the relationships between dimensions and indicators.
Findings: Social media, as a powerful and successful marketing tool, helps companies to connect activities and interactions between consumers with the brand in a more enjoyable way than ever before. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of social media marketing on consumer purchases through brand trust and brand attitude. The findings indicated that social media marketing has a positive and significant effect on brand trust and brand attitude. In addition, brand trust and brand attitude have a positive and significant effect on consumers' purchase intention; Also, social media marketing affects purchase intention through brand trust and brand attitude.
Conclusion: Today, marketers are increasingly concerned with understanding how social media is used in the purchase decision process. Social media offers marketers numerous opportunities to connect with consumers and build more meaningful relationships with them. Social media also provides opportunities to create and share marketing content with target audiences. Social media users have an easier time making decisions and enjoying their work compared to those who use other information sources. In the luxury brand sector, social media also appears to play a key role in the success of a brand. Studies have shown that luxury brand marketing on social media has a positive impact on consumers' favorable perception of luxury, luxury desire, and purchase intention. This study investigated the application of the social media phenomenon in marketing. To this end, it conceptualized the use of social media in marketing and evaluated its impact on consumers' purchase intention of luxury brands with the mediating role of trust and brand attitude. The findings suggest that the use of social media improves consumers' attitude and trust during the initial stages of information search and alternative evaluation. In this study, 6 hypotheses were tested. The results of the first hypothesis showed that social media marketing has a positive and significant impact on consumers' trust in the brand. Social media marketing is considered an effective tool in developing customer relationships. In addition, these interactions create trust and reduce uncertainty that may prevent customers from interacting with brands and making online transactions. Therefore, the higher the quality and informativeness of a social media, the greater the consumer trust in a brand. This means that brand trust is influenced by social media marketing. The findings of this study support the results of previous research. For example, a study by Amalina & Tiarawati (2016) found that if social media marketing is managed effectively, brand trust increases. This is because the transfer of good information creates the perception that the brand can meet the needs of the consumer. Chahal & Rani (2017) also stated that social media experience is an important driver of trust in a particular brand. The existence of social media makes it easier for marketers to reach a wider range of consumers. The results of research by researchers such as Ibrahim (2020) and Behnardi & Rogers (2018) also confirm the positive impact of social media marketing on brand trust. The results obtained from the confirmation of hypothesis number 2 of this study show that social media marketing has a positive and significant impact on consumers' attitudes towards the brand. Social media marketing can be an effective tool for interacting with the community, providing information, and receiving feedback, which leads to increased brand attitude (Poluan, Pasuhuk & Mandagi, 2022). The result is consistent with the instrumental research of Qasemi and Vesta (2014). The third hypothesis investigated the direct effect of social media marketing on consumers' purchase intention, the result of which is in contrast to the findings of the studies of Laksamana (2018) and Alfilo Ansari (2019).The result obtained from the confirmation of the fourth hypothesis of the present study shows that consumer trust in the brand has a significant effect on consumer purchase intention. It can be interpreted that the level of trust in a brand is taken into account by consumers in decision-making for product purchase. Based on the theory of planned behavior, the control belief of a decision relates to the activities that have been carried out, so this can be affected by brand trust because, according to Delgado-Ballester et al. (2003), brand trust includes hope, honesty, and concern. Expectations refer to promises that must be fulfilled in connection with consumers. Honesty refers to the consistency between words and actions in dealing with any situation experienced by consumers. Attention refers to a form of empathy that shows attitude towards consumers when faced with product-related problems. The result is in line with the previous studies of researchers such as Chae, Kim, Lee & Park (2020) and Song and Kim (2010). Ibáñez, Hartmann, & Calvo (2006) also showed that brand trust directly affects purchase intention, and this is very relevant when customers decide to change brands due to the high level of perceived risk and ambiguity. In the fifth hypothesis, the direct and significant effect of consumer attitude towards the brand on purchase intention was confirmed, meaning that a positive attitude towards a brand increases the percentage of brand acceptance probability and affects consumer purchase interest, purchase intention, and willingness to pay more. This result is in line with the findings of studies conducted by Qasemi and Vesta (2014), Yu, Liu, Lee, & Soutar (2018), and Li, Li, & Yang (2017). Finally, hypotheses 6 and 7, which tested the effect of social media marketing on purchase intention through brand trust and brand attitude, were confirmed. Therefore, the results of this study show that social media marketing cannot have a positive effect on consumers' purchase intention without the role of the mediating variables of consumer attitude and brand trust. This itself shows the importance of consumer attitude and trust in the brand in the effect of social media marketing on consumers' purchase intention.
Methodology: The present study has a quantitative approach and is applied in terms of purpose. In terms of nature and method of data collection, it is descriptive-survey. The statistical population of this study is all consumers of the luxury brands Paten Jama, Charm Mashhad, Salyan, Denis Trico, and Navin Charm in Iran, who follow the social media pages of these brands. The reason for choosing these brands is that they all have active representative pages on the social media platform Instagram. This is because it makes it possible to identify followers of these brands and people who are attached to these brands. Given the unlimited nature of the statistical population and the lack of access to the entire target population, the sample under study was taken using the available sampling method. In this way, the online questionnaire of the present study was shared with the followers of the Instagram pages of these brands. Due to the unknown size of the population, the sample size was estimated at 385 people using the Cochran formula.The questionnaire for the present study was prepared with 27 questions using a five-point Likert scale. A set of standard questionnaires from previous studies were used to measure the variables under study. The questions for the social media marketing variable were extracted from the standard questionnaire of Cheung, Pires & Rosenberger (2020), the questions related to purchase intention were extracted from the questionnaire of Lakshamana (2018), the questions for the brand attitude variable were extracted from the tool questionnaire of Qasemi and Vesta (2014), and the questions for the brand trust variable were extracted from the research questionnaire of Yazdani, Ronagh, Laqayi and Mostafshar (2019). In this study, the validity of the questionnaire was obtained through expert review. The questionnaire was sent to six experts and university professors who had at least five years of experience in the field of research, and after the necessary modifications, the validity of the questionnaire was confirmed. The reliability of the questionnaire was also obtained using the Cronbach's alpha coefficient. The questionnaire was distributed among 31 people, and a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 92% indicates the appropriate reliability of the questionnaire. In this study, Amos software and path analysis method were used to analyze the relationships between dimensions and indicators.
Findings: Social media, as a powerful and successful marketing tool, helps companies to connect activities and interactions between consumers with the brand in a more enjoyable way than ever before. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of social media marketing on consumer purchases through brand trust and brand attitude. The findings indicated that social media marketing has a positive and significant effect on brand trust and brand attitude. In addition, brand trust and brand attitude have a positive and significant effect on consumers' purchase intention; Also, social media marketing affects purchase intention through brand trust and brand attitude.
Conclusion: Today, marketers are increasingly concerned with understanding how social media is used in the purchase decision process. Social media offers marketers numerous opportunities to connect with consumers and build more meaningful relationships with them. Social media also provides opportunities to create and share marketing content with target audiences. Social media users have an easier time making decisions and enjoying their work compared to those who use other information sources. In the luxury brand sector, social media also appears to play a key role in the success of a brand. Studies have shown that luxury brand marketing on social media has a positive impact on consumers' favorable perception of luxury, luxury desire, and purchase intention. This study investigated the application of the social media phenomenon in marketing. To this end, it conceptualized the use of social media in marketing and evaluated its impact on consumers' purchase intention of luxury brands with the mediating role of trust and brand attitude. The findings suggest that the use of social media improves consumers' attitude and trust during the initial stages of information search and alternative evaluation. In this study, 6 hypotheses were tested. The results of the first hypothesis showed that social media marketing has a positive and significant impact on consumers' trust in the brand. Social media marketing is considered an effective tool in developing customer relationships. In addition, these interactions create trust and reduce uncertainty that may prevent customers from interacting with brands and making online transactions. Therefore, the higher the quality and informativeness of a social media, the greater the consumer trust in a brand. This means that brand trust is influenced by social media marketing. The findings of this study support the results of previous research. For example, a study by Amalina & Tiarawati (2016) found that if social media marketing is managed effectively, brand trust increases. This is because the transfer of good information creates the perception that the brand can meet the needs of the consumer. Chahal & Rani (2017) also stated that social media experience is an important driver of trust in a particular brand. The existence of social media makes it easier for marketers to reach a wider range of consumers. The results of research by researchers such as Ibrahim (2020) and Behnardi & Rogers (2018) also confirm the positive impact of social media marketing on brand trust. The results obtained from the confirmation of hypothesis number 2 of this study show that social media marketing has a positive and significant impact on consumers' attitudes towards the brand. Social media marketing can be an effective tool for interacting with the community, providing information, and receiving feedback, which leads to increased brand attitude (Poluan, Pasuhuk & Mandagi, 2022). The result is consistent with the instrumental research of Qasemi and Vesta (2014). The third hypothesis investigated the direct effect of social media marketing on consumers' purchase intention, the result of which is in contrast to the findings of the studies of Laksamana (2018) and Alfilo Ansari (2019).The result obtained from the confirmation of the fourth hypothesis of the present study shows that consumer trust in the brand has a significant effect on consumer purchase intention. It can be interpreted that the level of trust in a brand is taken into account by consumers in decision-making for product purchase. Based on the theory of planned behavior, the control belief of a decision relates to the activities that have been carried out, so this can be affected by brand trust because, according to Delgado-Ballester et al. (2003), brand trust includes hope, honesty, and concern. Expectations refer to promises that must be fulfilled in connection with consumers. Honesty refers to the consistency between words and actions in dealing with any situation experienced by consumers. Attention refers to a form of empathy that shows attitude towards consumers when faced with product-related problems. The result is in line with the previous studies of researchers such as Chae, Kim, Lee & Park (2020) and Song and Kim (2010). Ibáñez, Hartmann, & Calvo (2006) also showed that brand trust directly affects purchase intention, and this is very relevant when customers decide to change brands due to the high level of perceived risk and ambiguity. In the fifth hypothesis, the direct and significant effect of consumer attitude towards the brand on purchase intention was confirmed, meaning that a positive attitude towards a brand increases the percentage of brand acceptance probability and affects consumer purchase interest, purchase intention, and willingness to pay more. This result is in line with the findings of studies conducted by Qasemi and Vesta (2014), Yu, Liu, Lee, & Soutar (2018), and Li, Li, & Yang (2017). Finally, hypotheses 6 and 7, which tested the effect of social media marketing on purchase intention through brand trust and brand attitude, were confirmed. Therefore, the results of this study show that social media marketing cannot have a positive effect on consumers' purchase intention without the role of the mediating variables of consumer attitude and brand trust. This itself shows the importance of consumer attitude and trust in the brand in the effect of social media marketing on consumers' purchase intention.
Model of the antecedents and consequences of students self-disclosure in the educational environment
Mrs Shamsi Sokout, Mrs Maryam Slampanah, Mr Mohamad Javad Karam Afroz, Mrs Faranak Mousavi,
Volume 10, Issue 3 (11-2023)
Volume 10, Issue 3 (11-2023)
Abstract
purpose: The purpose of this research was to present a model of the antecedents and consequences of self-disclosure in the country's educational environment.
Although self-disclosure, its effective factors and consequences have special value from the aspect of many sciences such as counseling, educational management, educational sciences, psychology, etc., and numerous studies have been conducted on it, but a careful review of the research literature proved that so far no comprehensive and written study with a mixed approach and in the form of providing an integrated model has been done that has investigated the dimensions of this concept, its effective factors and consequences. Each of the existing studies have investigated one or more variables affecting self-disclosure separately. Therefore, according to the existing study gap, according to the history of the researcher's educational activity as a teacher and understanding the importance of self-disclosure in order to maintain the mental health of students of this country, the concern arises that in addition to a comprehensive look at the conducted researches, with an in-depth perspective, analyze this structure, its components, factors affecting it and its consequences in the educational environment of the country. Therefore, the main object of this research is "providing a model of the antecedents and consequences of self-disclosure in the educational environment of the country". In this research, the researcher intends to present effective factors and possible consequences in the form of a conceptual model.
Methodology: The methodology of this research is quantitative-descriptive. The sample of the current research is the first high school students of selected Tehran areas. These areas were selected by multi-stage cluster sampling method. According to subject of this research and the studied population (target), the sample size is selected according to the application of structural equations software, in the number of 600 students of the first secondary school in Tehran. For this purpose, the city of Tehran was first divided into five regions of North, South, East, West and Center by cluster sampling method. Then, from these five regions (regions 1, 5, 6, 8, 16), schools were selected as a cluster and then random samples were selected from each school. In this research, the researcher intends to use the questionnaire extracted from the qualitative part (made by the researcher). This questionnaire consists of two parts. The first part consists of demographic characteristics including gender, age, education level, and region, etc and the second part will contain specialized questions with a response package prepared on a five-point Likert scale.
A: Reflective measurement model test (cv com test)
B: Structural model tests include:
• Hypothesis significance test (direct path)
• R-squares or R2 test (determination coefficient)
• Structural model quality test (Cv Red)
C: the general fit test of the model at the end (SRMR)
Findings: According to the data obtained, there are 172 students in the seventh grade and 31.44%, 180 students in the eighth grade and 32.91%, and 195 students in the ninth grade and 35.65% and a total of 547 people answered the questions of the questionnaire in the educational levels of the first secondary school. According to the obtained data, all values of CV com are higher than 0.15. As a result, the quality of the measurement model is medium to high.
The results show that after removing the counseling expertise variable, the paths of the model from antecedents to self-disclosure and from self-disclosure to the consequences of self-disclosure are significant. It can be concluded that the components of trust, internal motivation, experience, being supported, context of acceptance and environmental conditions are the antecedents of students' self-disclosure. And the components of privacy awareness, mutual communication, creative thinking, problem solving, privacy risk, self-belief, optimism, monitorability, empathy, effective listening and learning from According to the obtained data, the effect of internal motivation on self-disclosure is T-Value = 7.509, the effect of trust on self-disclosure is T-Value = 4.632, the effect of having experience on self-disclosure is T-Value = 2.017, the effect of acceptance context on self-disclosure T-Value = 3.461, the effect of environmental conditions on self-disclosure T-Value = 4.343 and the effect of being supported on self-disclosure with T-Value = 4.392 which It is in the range [-1/96, 1/96]. P-Value=0, which is less than 0.05, rejects the H0 hypothesis and accepts the H1 hypothesis at the 95% confidence level. But the effect of consultant's expertise on self-disclosure T-Value = 0.5, which is not outside the range [-1.96, 1.96] and P-Value = 0.617, which is not less than 0.05, at the confidence level of 95 % HO hypothesis is confirmed and H1 hypothesis is rejected. And on the other hand, the value of β, which shows the intensity and direction of the effect, is positive in internal motivation 0.259, trust 0.168, experience 0.065, environment acceptance 0.12, environmental conditions 0.145, and being supported 0.2; therefore, it is predicted that if the research is repeated in a larger sample of the same community, this hypothesis will be confirmed, and on the other hand, the β value that shows the intensity and direction of the effect, the consultant's expertise is 0.015 and its direction is negative; Therefore, this hypothesis is not confirmed.
According to the obtained data, the effect of self-disclosure on mutual relationship T-value= 799.56, the effect of self-disclosure on creative thinking T-value = 252.22, the effect of self-disclosure on problem solving skill T-value = 684.41 Value, the effect of self-disclosure on self-belief, T-Value = 862/55, the effect of self-disclosure on monitorability, T-Value = 228/56, the effect of self-disclosure on empathy, T-Value = 10/911, the effect of self-disclosure on learning from mistakes T-Value = 64.12, the effect of self-disclosure on privacy awareness T-Value = 118.20, the effect of self-disclosure on privacy risk T-Value = 23.5, the effect of self-disclosure on optimism T-Value = 113.19 and the effect of self-disclosure on effective listening T-Value = 15.407, which is outside the range [-1.96, 1.96]. And P-Value = 0, which is less than 0.05, rejects the H0 hypothesis and confirms the H1 hypothesis at the 95% confidence level. And on the other hand, the value of β, which shows the intensity and direction of the effect, is 0.818 in mutual communication, 0.626 in creative thinking, 0.771 in problem solving skill, 0.829 in self-belief, 0.82 in monitorability, in empathy is 0.419, learning from mistakes is 0.468, privacy awareness is 0.591, privacy risk is 0.214, optimism is 0.551, and effective listening is 0.54. Therefore, it is expected that if the research is repeated in a larger sample of the same community, this hypothesis will be confirmed.
According to the findings, SRMR=0.062 is less than 0.08, so it can be concluded that the overall model has a good fit. The quality and fit status of the structural model resulting from the qualitative part of the research, which was one of the objectives of the quantitative part, was also examined.
In the present study, to calculate the goodness of fit (GOF), the average (R2) and (AVE) of the research components were extracted from smartpls software and included in the relevant formula.
GOF = √ 0.628192308× 0.685423077 = 0.656
According to the obtained data and the calculation result of GOF = 0.656, it can be said: the research model has a very good fit.
Conclusion: School is the foundation to all existing structures in society. A teacher is one of the most important role of a society and the first adult person after parents that the way of communicating with them is very important and has a serious impact on the emotional and social performance of students in school. The effective communication between students and the teacher not only gives the teacher a lot of motivation, but also can lead to creativity, satisfaction, academic progress, and better behavior of students in school and society. And finally, it should lead to students and teacher's mental health and create a foundation for establishing beneficial social relationships of students throughout their lives.
Self-disclosure is a process in which people verbally express their personal information or experiences to others. The school is one of the most important organized social institutions that by providing a healthy environment can cause the growth and prosperity of people's body and mind; This is shaped by students' relationships with teachers, counselors, and school administrators, as well as students' emotional growth, and self-disclosure develops this relationship.
Although self-disclosure, its effective factors and consequences have special value from the aspect of many sciences such as counseling, educational management, educational sciences, psychology, etc., and numerous studies have been conducted on it, but a careful review of the research literature proved that so far no comprehensive and written study with a mixed approach and in the form of providing an integrated model has been done that has investigated the dimensions of this concept, its effective factors and consequences. Each of the existing studies have investigated one or more variables affecting self-disclosure separately. Therefore, according to the existing study gap, according to the history of the researcher's educational activity as a teacher and understanding the importance of self-disclosure in order to maintain the mental health of students of this country, the concern arises that in addition to a comprehensive look at the conducted researches, with an in-depth perspective, analyze this structure, its components, factors affecting it and its consequences in the educational environment of the country. Therefore, the main object of this research is "providing a model of the antecedents and consequences of self-disclosure in the educational environment of the country". In this research, the researcher intends to present effective factors and possible consequences in the form of a conceptual model.
Methodology: The methodology of this research is quantitative-descriptive. The sample of the current research is the first high school students of selected Tehran areas. These areas were selected by multi-stage cluster sampling method. According to subject of this research and the studied population (target), the sample size is selected according to the application of structural equations software, in the number of 600 students of the first secondary school in Tehran. For this purpose, the city of Tehran was first divided into five regions of North, South, East, West and Center by cluster sampling method. Then, from these five regions (regions 1, 5, 6, 8, 16), schools were selected as a cluster and then random samples were selected from each school. In this research, the researcher intends to use the questionnaire extracted from the qualitative part (made by the researcher). This questionnaire consists of two parts. The first part consists of demographic characteristics including gender, age, education level, and region, etc and the second part will contain specialized questions with a response package prepared on a five-point Likert scale.
A: Reflective measurement model test (cv com test)
B: Structural model tests include:
• Hypothesis significance test (direct path)
• R-squares or R2 test (determination coefficient)
• Structural model quality test (Cv Red)
C: the general fit test of the model at the end (SRMR)
Findings: According to the data obtained, there are 172 students in the seventh grade and 31.44%, 180 students in the eighth grade and 32.91%, and 195 students in the ninth grade and 35.65% and a total of 547 people answered the questions of the questionnaire in the educational levels of the first secondary school. According to the obtained data, all values of CV com are higher than 0.15. As a result, the quality of the measurement model is medium to high.
The results show that after removing the counseling expertise variable, the paths of the model from antecedents to self-disclosure and from self-disclosure to the consequences of self-disclosure are significant. It can be concluded that the components of trust, internal motivation, experience, being supported, context of acceptance and environmental conditions are the antecedents of students' self-disclosure. And the components of privacy awareness, mutual communication, creative thinking, problem solving, privacy risk, self-belief, optimism, monitorability, empathy, effective listening and learning from According to the obtained data, the effect of internal motivation on self-disclosure is T-Value = 7.509, the effect of trust on self-disclosure is T-Value = 4.632, the effect of having experience on self-disclosure is T-Value = 2.017, the effect of acceptance context on self-disclosure T-Value = 3.461, the effect of environmental conditions on self-disclosure T-Value = 4.343 and the effect of being supported on self-disclosure with T-Value = 4.392 which It is in the range [-1/96, 1/96]. P-Value=0, which is less than 0.05, rejects the H0 hypothesis and accepts the H1 hypothesis at the 95% confidence level. But the effect of consultant's expertise on self-disclosure T-Value = 0.5, which is not outside the range [-1.96, 1.96] and P-Value = 0.617, which is not less than 0.05, at the confidence level of 95 % HO hypothesis is confirmed and H1 hypothesis is rejected. And on the other hand, the value of β, which shows the intensity and direction of the effect, is positive in internal motivation 0.259, trust 0.168, experience 0.065, environment acceptance 0.12, environmental conditions 0.145, and being supported 0.2; therefore, it is predicted that if the research is repeated in a larger sample of the same community, this hypothesis will be confirmed, and on the other hand, the β value that shows the intensity and direction of the effect, the consultant's expertise is 0.015 and its direction is negative; Therefore, this hypothesis is not confirmed.
According to the obtained data, the effect of self-disclosure on mutual relationship T-value= 799.56, the effect of self-disclosure on creative thinking T-value = 252.22, the effect of self-disclosure on problem solving skill T-value = 684.41 Value, the effect of self-disclosure on self-belief, T-Value = 862/55, the effect of self-disclosure on monitorability, T-Value = 228/56, the effect of self-disclosure on empathy, T-Value = 10/911, the effect of self-disclosure on learning from mistakes T-Value = 64.12, the effect of self-disclosure on privacy awareness T-Value = 118.20, the effect of self-disclosure on privacy risk T-Value = 23.5, the effect of self-disclosure on optimism T-Value = 113.19 and the effect of self-disclosure on effective listening T-Value = 15.407, which is outside the range [-1.96, 1.96]. And P-Value = 0, which is less than 0.05, rejects the H0 hypothesis and confirms the H1 hypothesis at the 95% confidence level. And on the other hand, the value of β, which shows the intensity and direction of the effect, is 0.818 in mutual communication, 0.626 in creative thinking, 0.771 in problem solving skill, 0.829 in self-belief, 0.82 in monitorability, in empathy is 0.419, learning from mistakes is 0.468, privacy awareness is 0.591, privacy risk is 0.214, optimism is 0.551, and effective listening is 0.54. Therefore, it is expected that if the research is repeated in a larger sample of the same community, this hypothesis will be confirmed.
According to the findings, SRMR=0.062 is less than 0.08, so it can be concluded that the overall model has a good fit. The quality and fit status of the structural model resulting from the qualitative part of the research, which was one of the objectives of the quantitative part, was also examined.
In the present study, to calculate the goodness of fit (GOF), the average (R2) and (AVE) of the research components were extracted from smartpls software and included in the relevant formula.
GOF = √ 0.628192308× 0.685423077 = 0.656
According to the obtained data and the calculation result of GOF = 0.656, it can be said: the research model has a very good fit.
Conclusion: School is the foundation to all existing structures in society. A teacher is one of the most important role of a society and the first adult person after parents that the way of communicating with them is very important and has a serious impact on the emotional and social performance of students in school. The effective communication between students and the teacher not only gives the teacher a lot of motivation, but also can lead to creativity, satisfaction, academic progress, and better behavior of students in school and society. And finally, it should lead to students and teacher's mental health and create a foundation for establishing beneficial social relationships of students throughout their lives.
Self-disclosure is a process in which people verbally express their personal information or experiences to others. The school is one of the most important organized social institutions that by providing a healthy environment can cause the growth and prosperity of people's body and mind; This is shaped by students' relationships with teachers, counselors, and school administrators, as well as students' emotional growth, and self-disclosure develops this relationship.
Marzieh Morovati, Nosrat Riahinia, Ali Azimi,
Volume 10, Issue 4 (3-2024)
Volume 10, Issue 4 (3-2024)
Abstract
Background and Aim: The Covid-19 pandemic crisis has highlighted the importance of open and timely access to scientific information. The aim of this study was to explain the world community's efforts to open access in the Covid-19 pandemic crisis.
Method: This was a review study in terms of approach using documentary research method. In this regard, open access literature was studied using searches on Google search engine, Google Scholar and databases such as PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus and the websites of publishers, journals and scientific institutions, focusing on the Covid-19 pandemic crisis.
Results: Since the formation of the open access movement, this issue has attracted a lot of attention and extensive efforts have been made in the direction of open access to research publications by the scientific community. Publishers, financial sponsors and international institutions have also entered this arena and various statements and plans have been formed in order to recognize the open access movement and its development. “Budapest Open Access Initiative”, “Bethesda Statement on Open Access Publishing”, “Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities” are the first measures in this regard. On the other hand, the importance of access to timely information, especially in the fields of medical sciences and information related to health and diseases, is worthy of attention in promoting public health. The need to pay attention to open access and sharing of information and the consequences of not doing so has become more important with the occurrence of critical and emergency situations caused by pandemic and public health emergencies. Along with the emergence of COVID-19 and the pandemic caused by it, many researches have been conducted in order to deal with the crisis of this disease and to find solutions for its treatment and control. The aspects of this deadly disease have attracted the attention of everyone, especially scientists and scholars in various fields around the world, and an unprecedented number of articles have been published in this field. In addition, many international organizations have published various information about the disease of COVID-19 in the form of open access, for example, “WHO Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Dashboard” and "Coronavirus Watch". The unprecedented crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of information transparency and timely and open access to it. Access to accurate and timely information about this emerging disease is very important and can help to assess and understand the risks and obtain strategies to contain it, strong evidence, better information and support for decisions and policies in the direction of public health. The need to provide suitable solutions for treatment, prevention and control of the disease on the one hand and the increasing number of researches on COVID-19 on the other hand, has created new opportunities in the system of scientific communication and publication of research findings, and the scientific community has decided to accelerate the cycle of knowledge to find possible solutions to deal with the disease crisis. Explaining the efforts and measures taken in this direction during the COVID-19 pandemic as the most important global crisis and concern can provide useful information to the scientific community, especially those involved in research. Considering the unprecedented nature of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, as well as the importance of timely and open access to scientific information about this disease, the question arises as to what measures have been taken in response to the COVID-19 pandemic crisis? Also, what measures and measures have been taken for free access to scientific information about the pandemic? A review of the literature regarding the issue of open access in the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic showed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, a global effort has been made to facilitate open access to COVID-19 research findings. The need for appropriate strategies for the treatment, prevention and control of the disease and the increasing number of COVID-19 research has affected the system of scientific communication and the publication of research findings and the world community, especially reputable publishers and scientific institutions, have made extensive statements, measures and efforts to provide open access to as much scientific information as possible about the disease. During the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic, many publishers, journals and funders have committed to open access in a statement to ensure that research findings and data relevant to this outbreak are shared rapidly and openly to inform the public health response and help save lives. The measures and actions of publishers and scientific journals in this regard are worthy of attention. Access to Elsevier's free medical and health research related to COVID-19 is possible through the "Elsevier's Novel Coronavirus Information Center". Elsevier has also created a collection of free resources, including evidence-based clinical guidelines and more than 41,000 research articles to read, download and extract data, in support of the research communities' impressive efforts in the fight against COVID-19. This guide provides an overview of the resources. Through the "COVID-19 Resource Centre", Lancet has provided free access to all research articles, review articles, news and analysis related to COVID-19 from its journals. Springer Nature has provided free access to the latest COVID-19 articles through the "Coronavirus (COVID-19) Research Highlights". The publisher has now enabled free access to articles, book chapters, reference works and protocols on its platforms and has supported all researchers to make their experimental datasets freely available. Springer Nature has made more than 8,700 preprint articles on COVID-19 available through “Research Square”, with links to key resources, free content, and up-to-date information related to COVID-19, along with key information and policies in support of access from placed far away. NEJM has made available a collection of articles and resources such as clinical reports and management guides about the pandemic, as well as a collection of resources about the COVID-19 vaccines. BMJ's Coronavirus (COVID-19) Hub has also supported health professionals and researchers through open access to practical guides, online courses, as well as the latest BMG news, opinions and research. PLOS is committed to publishing research as quickly as possible, especially in public health emergencies. All articles published in PLOS journals are free for all readers. PLOS articles collection highlights all the content related to the COVID-19 pandemic published in PLOS journals. To support the efforts of global health professionals and the scientific research community, Taylor & Francis has created a special collection of research articles related to COVID-19, providing free access to published articles related to COVID-19 in the publisher's major medical journals. he does. This collection is updated weekly. On the other hand, the archive of all research articles related to COVID-19 published in 2020 by Taylor & Francis has also been made available to the audience. Wiley has created the "COVID-19 Resources" in order to help researchers, educators and specialists for online training and access to the latest research on COVID-19. Believing in the power of social and behavioral sciences to transform the best medical research into policies and procedures for development, SAGE has published a collection of the latest medical research related to COVID-19 published by this publisher, as well as the best social and behavioral research in order to help It has enabled individuals, communities and guardians to make the best decisions to deal with the pandemic and its consequences. Science journals are trying to make research related to COVID-19 available in open access. The "COVID-19" option is placed on the main page of the Science website. CABI has also created free access to more than 37,000 records related to COVID-19 in its online platforms, Global Health and CAB Abstracts in order to support global efforts to deal with the disease pandemic. Global Health provides researchers and students with unparalleled access to all public health research and practices in the world - providing knowledge without borders. “Sci-Dev.Net” also includes episodes about the coronavirus in the Health, Science and Development series. Wolters Kluwer is also one of the publishers that has provided free access to publications related to COVID-19 in order to support professionals. According to IFLA reports, the actions of publishers such as Penguin Random House and Macmillan, as well as the measures of Audible and ENSSIB in terms of access to resources, are worthy of attention. Some libraries, such as the National Library and Archives of Iran, have provided extensive access to their users. Some associations and scientific societies, such as the International Coalition of Library Consortia, LIBER and the Association of University Library Directors in France, have asked publishers to facilitate access to works. Italian and Spanish librarians have called for more open access efforts. During the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic, open access has also attracted the attention of scientific institutions, and extensive measures have been taken in this direction by them. In the January 30 statement, the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board called for immediate measures such as the free and immediate sharing of all information about the pandemic, the cooperation of countries to immediately allocate resources to prevent, identify and inform about the pandemic and the rapid sharing of research data by the research community, support Low-income countries are advised to ensure proper notification to national and international communities to control the pandemic. On January 30, 2020, following the recommendations of the Emergency Committee, the Director-General of the World Health Organization declared the disease pandemic a public health emergency of international concern. The world's scientists gathered on February 11-12, 2020 at the headquarters of the World Health Organization in Geneva to assess the current level of knowledge about the new virus and about critical questions and find solutions to contribute to accelerating and funding research priorities and solving the pandemic crisis and preparedness Discuss and negotiate for future issues. This meeting led to an agreement on two basic goals. The first case was to accelerate innovative research to help curb the pandemic and facilitate care, and the second case was to support research priorities that contribute to global research platforms. The World Health Organization believes that the coherence of countries is necessary to ensure fair access to the effects of COVID-19. The World Health Organization is collecting global research on the disease COVID-19 and the latest findings and international multilingual scientific information on the pandemic. UNESCO has also emphasized the value and necessity of open solutions in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and believes that open access to scientific information can facilitate better and faster research in the direction of a suitable vaccine, and open Educational Resources help everyone to use their information. updates about COVID-19 and also teaches how to follow public health recommendations. Relying on its mission to ensure global access to information, UNESCO has taken various initiatives to apply open solutions in the fight against the pandemic. For example, the Coronavirus Watch provides a global view of the pandemic situation. The COVID-19 Universal REsource gateway (CURE) is also an immediate response to the pandemic. IFLA has made efforts to encourage the World Intellectual Property Organization to emphasize how balanced intellectual property laws can help facilitate access. IFLA has also provided a list of key resources for libraries in response to the COVID-19 pandemic on its website. Open access is also emphasized in the statement of the President and Secretary General of IFLA. Following the COVID-19 crisis, priorities have also been considered in the SPARC program. Also, the Copyright Clearance Center recognizes publishing and information institutions to participate in the public interest through access to scientific, news and educational materials related to COVID-19. The list of institutions is regularly updated. The Islamic World Science and Technology Monitoring and Citation Institute has also launched the "COVID-19 Visualizer" in order to provide up-to-date statistics about the pandemic situation and accelerate the transmission of scientific findings about COVID-19. In addition, government officials have also called for open access to the publications of COVID-19. The National Science and Technology Advisors of the United States of America, Canada, England, Australia, Brazil, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, India, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and the European Commission have published an open letter asking scientific publishers to Pandemic, make publications related to COVID-19 available with open access through PubMed Central and other public databases such as the World Health Organization's COVID-19 database. The world community’s efforts demonstrate the growing importance of open access and increasing attention to this issue. It seems that the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic crisis could provide lessons for better preparedness for possible future crises. The present study is one of the first studies conducted in our country regarding the free access movement in the pandemic crisis and tried to present a picture of the efforts of the scientific community in this field in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is obvious that future researches on the wide dimensions and angles of this issue can cause the scientific community to become more aware of the importance of free access, especially in crises.
Conclusion: The world community’s efforts demonstrate the growing importance of open access and increasing attention to this issue. It seems that the global response to the Covid-19 pandemic crisis could provide lessons for better preparedness for possible future crises. If open access is considered as a value in the system of publishing and research communications, the development and generalization of this value requires the adoption of policies and requirements of the scientific community in order to develop it as a global value.
Method: This was a review study in terms of approach using documentary research method. In this regard, open access literature was studied using searches on Google search engine, Google Scholar and databases such as PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus and the websites of publishers, journals and scientific institutions, focusing on the Covid-19 pandemic crisis.
Results: Since the formation of the open access movement, this issue has attracted a lot of attention and extensive efforts have been made in the direction of open access to research publications by the scientific community. Publishers, financial sponsors and international institutions have also entered this arena and various statements and plans have been formed in order to recognize the open access movement and its development. “Budapest Open Access Initiative”, “Bethesda Statement on Open Access Publishing”, “Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities” are the first measures in this regard. On the other hand, the importance of access to timely information, especially in the fields of medical sciences and information related to health and diseases, is worthy of attention in promoting public health. The need to pay attention to open access and sharing of information and the consequences of not doing so has become more important with the occurrence of critical and emergency situations caused by pandemic and public health emergencies. Along with the emergence of COVID-19 and the pandemic caused by it, many researches have been conducted in order to deal with the crisis of this disease and to find solutions for its treatment and control. The aspects of this deadly disease have attracted the attention of everyone, especially scientists and scholars in various fields around the world, and an unprecedented number of articles have been published in this field. In addition, many international organizations have published various information about the disease of COVID-19 in the form of open access, for example, “WHO Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Dashboard” and "Coronavirus Watch". The unprecedented crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of information transparency and timely and open access to it. Access to accurate and timely information about this emerging disease is very important and can help to assess and understand the risks and obtain strategies to contain it, strong evidence, better information and support for decisions and policies in the direction of public health. The need to provide suitable solutions for treatment, prevention and control of the disease on the one hand and the increasing number of researches on COVID-19 on the other hand, has created new opportunities in the system of scientific communication and publication of research findings, and the scientific community has decided to accelerate the cycle of knowledge to find possible solutions to deal with the disease crisis. Explaining the efforts and measures taken in this direction during the COVID-19 pandemic as the most important global crisis and concern can provide useful information to the scientific community, especially those involved in research. Considering the unprecedented nature of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, as well as the importance of timely and open access to scientific information about this disease, the question arises as to what measures have been taken in response to the COVID-19 pandemic crisis? Also, what measures and measures have been taken for free access to scientific information about the pandemic? A review of the literature regarding the issue of open access in the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic showed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, a global effort has been made to facilitate open access to COVID-19 research findings. The need for appropriate strategies for the treatment, prevention and control of the disease and the increasing number of COVID-19 research has affected the system of scientific communication and the publication of research findings and the world community, especially reputable publishers and scientific institutions, have made extensive statements, measures and efforts to provide open access to as much scientific information as possible about the disease. During the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic, many publishers, journals and funders have committed to open access in a statement to ensure that research findings and data relevant to this outbreak are shared rapidly and openly to inform the public health response and help save lives. The measures and actions of publishers and scientific journals in this regard are worthy of attention. Access to Elsevier's free medical and health research related to COVID-19 is possible through the "Elsevier's Novel Coronavirus Information Center". Elsevier has also created a collection of free resources, including evidence-based clinical guidelines and more than 41,000 research articles to read, download and extract data, in support of the research communities' impressive efforts in the fight against COVID-19. This guide provides an overview of the resources. Through the "COVID-19 Resource Centre", Lancet has provided free access to all research articles, review articles, news and analysis related to COVID-19 from its journals. Springer Nature has provided free access to the latest COVID-19 articles through the "Coronavirus (COVID-19) Research Highlights". The publisher has now enabled free access to articles, book chapters, reference works and protocols on its platforms and has supported all researchers to make their experimental datasets freely available. Springer Nature has made more than 8,700 preprint articles on COVID-19 available through “Research Square”, with links to key resources, free content, and up-to-date information related to COVID-19, along with key information and policies in support of access from placed far away. NEJM has made available a collection of articles and resources such as clinical reports and management guides about the pandemic, as well as a collection of resources about the COVID-19 vaccines. BMJ's Coronavirus (COVID-19) Hub has also supported health professionals and researchers through open access to practical guides, online courses, as well as the latest BMG news, opinions and research. PLOS is committed to publishing research as quickly as possible, especially in public health emergencies. All articles published in PLOS journals are free for all readers. PLOS articles collection highlights all the content related to the COVID-19 pandemic published in PLOS journals. To support the efforts of global health professionals and the scientific research community, Taylor & Francis has created a special collection of research articles related to COVID-19, providing free access to published articles related to COVID-19 in the publisher's major medical journals. he does. This collection is updated weekly. On the other hand, the archive of all research articles related to COVID-19 published in 2020 by Taylor & Francis has also been made available to the audience. Wiley has created the "COVID-19 Resources" in order to help researchers, educators and specialists for online training and access to the latest research on COVID-19. Believing in the power of social and behavioral sciences to transform the best medical research into policies and procedures for development, SAGE has published a collection of the latest medical research related to COVID-19 published by this publisher, as well as the best social and behavioral research in order to help It has enabled individuals, communities and guardians to make the best decisions to deal with the pandemic and its consequences. Science journals are trying to make research related to COVID-19 available in open access. The "COVID-19" option is placed on the main page of the Science website. CABI has also created free access to more than 37,000 records related to COVID-19 in its online platforms, Global Health and CAB Abstracts in order to support global efforts to deal with the disease pandemic. Global Health provides researchers and students with unparalleled access to all public health research and practices in the world - providing knowledge without borders. “Sci-Dev.Net” also includes episodes about the coronavirus in the Health, Science and Development series. Wolters Kluwer is also one of the publishers that has provided free access to publications related to COVID-19 in order to support professionals. According to IFLA reports, the actions of publishers such as Penguin Random House and Macmillan, as well as the measures of Audible and ENSSIB in terms of access to resources, are worthy of attention. Some libraries, such as the National Library and Archives of Iran, have provided extensive access to their users. Some associations and scientific societies, such as the International Coalition of Library Consortia, LIBER and the Association of University Library Directors in France, have asked publishers to facilitate access to works. Italian and Spanish librarians have called for more open access efforts. During the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic, open access has also attracted the attention of scientific institutions, and extensive measures have been taken in this direction by them. In the January 30 statement, the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board called for immediate measures such as the free and immediate sharing of all information about the pandemic, the cooperation of countries to immediately allocate resources to prevent, identify and inform about the pandemic and the rapid sharing of research data by the research community, support Low-income countries are advised to ensure proper notification to national and international communities to control the pandemic. On January 30, 2020, following the recommendations of the Emergency Committee, the Director-General of the World Health Organization declared the disease pandemic a public health emergency of international concern. The world's scientists gathered on February 11-12, 2020 at the headquarters of the World Health Organization in Geneva to assess the current level of knowledge about the new virus and about critical questions and find solutions to contribute to accelerating and funding research priorities and solving the pandemic crisis and preparedness Discuss and negotiate for future issues. This meeting led to an agreement on two basic goals. The first case was to accelerate innovative research to help curb the pandemic and facilitate care, and the second case was to support research priorities that contribute to global research platforms. The World Health Organization believes that the coherence of countries is necessary to ensure fair access to the effects of COVID-19. The World Health Organization is collecting global research on the disease COVID-19 and the latest findings and international multilingual scientific information on the pandemic. UNESCO has also emphasized the value and necessity of open solutions in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and believes that open access to scientific information can facilitate better and faster research in the direction of a suitable vaccine, and open Educational Resources help everyone to use their information. updates about COVID-19 and also teaches how to follow public health recommendations. Relying on its mission to ensure global access to information, UNESCO has taken various initiatives to apply open solutions in the fight against the pandemic. For example, the Coronavirus Watch provides a global view of the pandemic situation. The COVID-19 Universal REsource gateway (CURE) is also an immediate response to the pandemic. IFLA has made efforts to encourage the World Intellectual Property Organization to emphasize how balanced intellectual property laws can help facilitate access. IFLA has also provided a list of key resources for libraries in response to the COVID-19 pandemic on its website. Open access is also emphasized in the statement of the President and Secretary General of IFLA. Following the COVID-19 crisis, priorities have also been considered in the SPARC program. Also, the Copyright Clearance Center recognizes publishing and information institutions to participate in the public interest through access to scientific, news and educational materials related to COVID-19. The list of institutions is regularly updated. The Islamic World Science and Technology Monitoring and Citation Institute has also launched the "COVID-19 Visualizer" in order to provide up-to-date statistics about the pandemic situation and accelerate the transmission of scientific findings about COVID-19. In addition, government officials have also called for open access to the publications of COVID-19. The National Science and Technology Advisors of the United States of America, Canada, England, Australia, Brazil, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, India, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and the European Commission have published an open letter asking scientific publishers to Pandemic, make publications related to COVID-19 available with open access through PubMed Central and other public databases such as the World Health Organization's COVID-19 database. The world community’s efforts demonstrate the growing importance of open access and increasing attention to this issue. It seems that the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic crisis could provide lessons for better preparedness for possible future crises. The present study is one of the first studies conducted in our country regarding the free access movement in the pandemic crisis and tried to present a picture of the efforts of the scientific community in this field in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is obvious that future researches on the wide dimensions and angles of this issue can cause the scientific community to become more aware of the importance of free access, especially in crises.
Conclusion: The world community’s efforts demonstrate the growing importance of open access and increasing attention to this issue. It seems that the global response to the Covid-19 pandemic crisis could provide lessons for better preparedness for possible future crises. If open access is considered as a value in the system of publishing and research communications, the development and generalization of this value requires the adoption of policies and requirements of the scientific community in order to develop it as a global value.
Mansoor Koohi Rostami, Hadi Alhaei, Zeinab Jozi, Mohammad Amin Sekhavatmanesh,
Volume 10, Issue 4 (3-2024)
Volume 10, Issue 4 (3-2024)
Abstract
Introduction: Human life has always been subject to crisis. The important thing in dealing with a crisis is the appropriate response. The emergence of information technology has provided crisis managers with the best possible potential and capacities for crisis management. Today, managers should always be ready to deal with crises. These crises can be economic and financial or natural events such as storms, floods, tsunamis, or disease outbreaks. Managers who have not taken measures in advance to deal with such events will lose more. No one is aware of the crisis in advance. Expert managers have basic plans to deal with such situations. To overcome uneven events, managers should use the experiences of their predecessors to get acquainted with crisis coping strategies. Not all managers can overcome the crisis. However, if the managers in their organization believe in crisis management as an inseparable part of their strategic management responsibility, the probability of confronting a crisis will be significantly reduced. Crisis management activities are performed in three stages before the crisis, during the crisis, and after the crisis. The first step consists of the actions needed to prevent the crisis. This stage is the first step in identifying and diagnosing the crisis and also gathering information to deal with the crisis. The second stage includes the stage of crisis occurrence. In this stage, it is necessary to gather information to diagnose the causes of the crisis. The third stage is the actions that must be taken after the crisis. At this stage, we had to ensure that the crisis has resolved or not. Also, learning from the crisis so that it does not happen again occurs at this stage. The crisis is a test for stability in a system. A crisis is an unusual situation in which a problem or sudden event occurs that is not predictable. Etymologically, the word crisis has been derived from the Greek language. In ancient Greek, the word crisis (κριςις) means "judgment" or "decision". The crisis means that it is necessary to make a decision that has not been made before. In the 21st century, the growth of information technology and the expansion of research has created a significant increase in the understanding of the challenges of crisis management when facing a crisis to reduce victims, and thanks to technology and the use of communication technologies, crisis management has become more realistic. During crisis management, by using correct communication, participation, coordination, and integration in information systems play an important role in crisis control. In a crisis, those affected perceive, process, and act on information differently than in non-crisis times. One of the applications of information technology in crisis management is "crisis informatics". Crisis informatics deals with the relationship between people, organizations, information, and technology during a crisis. Crisis informatics means the knowledge of receiving and transmitting information. In other words, crisis computing is the science of information processing and information systems. On the other hand, inaccuracy in choosing and publishing news and information in crisis conditions can be called crisis informatics. The expansion of social media such as Facebook, and Twitter, search based on people, and response to the crisis of Google, YouTube, and Flickr has changed the face of information management in critical situations. One of the capabilities of information science specialists is information monitoring. Information specialists can identify which information is fake and which is valid through information review. Therefore, experts in this field can play an influential role in preparing information reports for decision-makers. Also, by producing correct and reliable content, they should prevent the information confusion of the public. Considering that information forms the link between crisis management, crisis informatics, and information science, the present study was conducted to explain the role and functions of information science in crisis informatics.
Methods: The current research was conducted using a library method with an analytical approach and after reviewing previous studies to identify concepts related to the concept of crisis informatics. In this study, researchers first searched for materials related to the purpose of the research using keywords (crisis informatics, disaster informatics, informatics patterns of crisis, information science and crisis, information science and disasters, crisis informatics in disasters and social media) in databases including Google Scholar, Emerald, WebOscience, Scopus, ScienceDirect paid. The researchers examined the recovered. After reviewing the found texts, the researchers selected the related materials based on the purpose of the research and presented them in this article. In this research, by examining the concept, history, and patterns of information flow in crisis informatics and the role of information science specialists, an analytical review has been made on the importance of the role and position of information science specialists as crisis informatics in times of crisis.
Findings: The findings showed that although the importance of social media in a crisis is critical to researchers and many studies have covered it and paid attention to its role in gathering information during a crisis as well as providing aid, so far Informing people when dangerous events occur in social networks has not been given serious attention. Self-coordination through social media among citizens and providing aid to fellow citizens, through the advice of shared posts, helps to improve crisis conditions, and authorities use media for public communication during a crisis. However, obstacles such as the lack of personnel to verify and disseminate information are still challenges to the efficient use of social media by authorities. Also, data mining of citizens' behaviors is one of the issues through which authorities can identify wrong information and deal with it. Officials and crisis managers can identify the fundamental gaps in society and take action to solve them by obtaining public information. In social networks, due to the existence of two types of official and unofficial information, the flow of communication is also two-way. This means that both people and authorities send and receive information. As a result, the main focus of crisis informatics is information. These findings show that providing information during a crisis, especially health information to accident victims, is still a challenge, despite the commonality of crisis informatics and information science, no independent research has yet addressed this issue. At the same time, the common point of information science and informatics is the crisis and the main topic of both information. Information science specialists can play an essential role in crisis informatics due to their capacities to produce reliable information, verify information, manage and set up information systems, create databases, and facilitate and accelerate information recovery.
Conclusion: Crisis informatics is a field of study that has received much attention and is proliferating. And its importance during the last decade has made it a subject area of research activities. This relatively new field has emerged to ensure that the full potential of information and communication technologies is maximized to improve decisions and actions at various stages of crisis management. Examining the definitions shows that crisis informatics is sometimes defined only in interaction with social networks (Palen et al., 2020), and sometimes it is generally understood in interaction with technology (Soden, 2017; Palen et al., 2009). In some cases, it has been proposed as a social system that is created as a result of communication between different groups (Soden, 2017; Palen and Soden, 2018; Palen and Anderson, 2016). But the commonality of all the above definitions can be seen as the existence of the social system and the interaction of humans and information. This field collects data from social reactions to crises and incidents and analyzes the results. Based on this, crisis informatics can be defined as the response of human groups to crises and incidents in the context of information technology. The increasing importance of social media in conflicts and crises has made people use them with more interest. People share feelings, thoughts and images with their friends on these media. During the crisis, this process increases. Most important events are quickly released to the public before they even hit the news. Although information on social networks may contain true and false information, including rumors. But these media are among the most important media for providing information about accidents and the condition of people who have been injured. Research on crisis informatics and social media has also shown that emergency services departments can use social media to obtain valuable information (e. g. eyewitness reports, images, or videos) that help them Inform about disaster situations so that they can send their immediate aid. Of course, due to the emerging nature of crisis informatics, we can expect to see more precise and more developed definitions in the future. Of course, the maturity of the field of crisis informatics requires providing a comprehensive, accurate, and precise definition, which in this study was tried to be formulated based on the theoretical background of the research.
The review of informatics literature also showed that this emerging field is an interdisciplinary research field that includes several different disciplines. Among them, the field of information and communication technology, health/medicine, and information systems play the most crucial role. It was also found that despite the centrality of information and its importance in the crisis, so far no research has been done on the role of information science and information specialists in informatics. Because information is very critical in all stages of a crisis and, accordingly, crisis informatics, the field of information science can play a crucial role in the best performance of crisis informatics. Validation of information was identified as one of the functions of this field, because the combination of a large volume of official information sources and content produced by citizens adds to the information load in crises. This increases uncertainty and difficulty in deciding who and what sources are trustworthy. Deciding which information providers and sources to trust in a crisis is very essential because acting on reliable information can shape and influence the nature of the crisis. Verification of the accuracy of this information can be done by experts in the field of information science.
Providing the information needs of people involved in the crisis, such as citizens, organizations, non-governmental groups, etc., can also be included in the scope of the duties of specialists in the field of information science. One of the primary needs after a crisis is accurate information, and this is what information specialists and librarians are trained for. This group can provide critical information to support the performance of local authorities, emergency managers, police, fire, and medical personnel. Librarians are trained to provide accurate information in various formats and are fast to solve problems. Most importantly, the general public considers librarians to be closer, more accessible, and more reliable than the employees of government agencies. Also, the organization of information recovery tools can be part of the roles of this field in crisis informatics. Controlling and directing the correct flow of information, and designing and implementing banks and information systems are also included in the activities of specialists in the field of information science. Summarized to the "right" person at the "right" time using a suitable platform for specific needs and groups. With population growth and ecological changes (such as climate changes, nature changes, and the destruction of many non-renewable natural resources), it is necessary to think of measures to prevent abnormal events in emergencies. The emergence of artificial intelligence technology and its use in information systems as well as social networks promises that the use of this technology will be fruitful in investigating the possibility of accidents and it is easy to provide people with the correct information in an intelligent way. Also, the authorities will strengthen their communication with the community through this technology. Promoting smartphones and increasing bandwidth to high-risk areas will also facilitate data recovery in times of crisis and increase self-organization among people affected by accidents.
Methods: The current research was conducted using a library method with an analytical approach and after reviewing previous studies to identify concepts related to the concept of crisis informatics. In this study, researchers first searched for materials related to the purpose of the research using keywords (crisis informatics, disaster informatics, informatics patterns of crisis, information science and crisis, information science and disasters, crisis informatics in disasters and social media) in databases including Google Scholar, Emerald, WebOscience, Scopus, ScienceDirect paid. The researchers examined the recovered. After reviewing the found texts, the researchers selected the related materials based on the purpose of the research and presented them in this article. In this research, by examining the concept, history, and patterns of information flow in crisis informatics and the role of information science specialists, an analytical review has been made on the importance of the role and position of information science specialists as crisis informatics in times of crisis.
Findings: The findings showed that although the importance of social media in a crisis is critical to researchers and many studies have covered it and paid attention to its role in gathering information during a crisis as well as providing aid, so far Informing people when dangerous events occur in social networks has not been given serious attention. Self-coordination through social media among citizens and providing aid to fellow citizens, through the advice of shared posts, helps to improve crisis conditions, and authorities use media for public communication during a crisis. However, obstacles such as the lack of personnel to verify and disseminate information are still challenges to the efficient use of social media by authorities. Also, data mining of citizens' behaviors is one of the issues through which authorities can identify wrong information and deal with it. Officials and crisis managers can identify the fundamental gaps in society and take action to solve them by obtaining public information. In social networks, due to the existence of two types of official and unofficial information, the flow of communication is also two-way. This means that both people and authorities send and receive information. As a result, the main focus of crisis informatics is information. These findings show that providing information during a crisis, especially health information to accident victims, is still a challenge, despite the commonality of crisis informatics and information science, no independent research has yet addressed this issue. At the same time, the common point of information science and informatics is the crisis and the main topic of both information. Information science specialists can play an essential role in crisis informatics due to their capacities to produce reliable information, verify information, manage and set up information systems, create databases, and facilitate and accelerate information recovery.
Conclusion: Crisis informatics is a field of study that has received much attention and is proliferating. And its importance during the last decade has made it a subject area of research activities. This relatively new field has emerged to ensure that the full potential of information and communication technologies is maximized to improve decisions and actions at various stages of crisis management. Examining the definitions shows that crisis informatics is sometimes defined only in interaction with social networks (Palen et al., 2020), and sometimes it is generally understood in interaction with technology (Soden, 2017; Palen et al., 2009). In some cases, it has been proposed as a social system that is created as a result of communication between different groups (Soden, 2017; Palen and Soden, 2018; Palen and Anderson, 2016). But the commonality of all the above definitions can be seen as the existence of the social system and the interaction of humans and information. This field collects data from social reactions to crises and incidents and analyzes the results. Based on this, crisis informatics can be defined as the response of human groups to crises and incidents in the context of information technology. The increasing importance of social media in conflicts and crises has made people use them with more interest. People share feelings, thoughts and images with their friends on these media. During the crisis, this process increases. Most important events are quickly released to the public before they even hit the news. Although information on social networks may contain true and false information, including rumors. But these media are among the most important media for providing information about accidents and the condition of people who have been injured. Research on crisis informatics and social media has also shown that emergency services departments can use social media to obtain valuable information (e. g. eyewitness reports, images, or videos) that help them Inform about disaster situations so that they can send their immediate aid. Of course, due to the emerging nature of crisis informatics, we can expect to see more precise and more developed definitions in the future. Of course, the maturity of the field of crisis informatics requires providing a comprehensive, accurate, and precise definition, which in this study was tried to be formulated based on the theoretical background of the research.
The review of informatics literature also showed that this emerging field is an interdisciplinary research field that includes several different disciplines. Among them, the field of information and communication technology, health/medicine, and information systems play the most crucial role. It was also found that despite the centrality of information and its importance in the crisis, so far no research has been done on the role of information science and information specialists in informatics. Because information is very critical in all stages of a crisis and, accordingly, crisis informatics, the field of information science can play a crucial role in the best performance of crisis informatics. Validation of information was identified as one of the functions of this field, because the combination of a large volume of official information sources and content produced by citizens adds to the information load in crises. This increases uncertainty and difficulty in deciding who and what sources are trustworthy. Deciding which information providers and sources to trust in a crisis is very essential because acting on reliable information can shape and influence the nature of the crisis. Verification of the accuracy of this information can be done by experts in the field of information science.
Providing the information needs of people involved in the crisis, such as citizens, organizations, non-governmental groups, etc., can also be included in the scope of the duties of specialists in the field of information science. One of the primary needs after a crisis is accurate information, and this is what information specialists and librarians are trained for. This group can provide critical information to support the performance of local authorities, emergency managers, police, fire, and medical personnel. Librarians are trained to provide accurate information in various formats and are fast to solve problems. Most importantly, the general public considers librarians to be closer, more accessible, and more reliable than the employees of government agencies. Also, the organization of information recovery tools can be part of the roles of this field in crisis informatics. Controlling and directing the correct flow of information, and designing and implementing banks and information systems are also included in the activities of specialists in the field of information science. Summarized to the "right" person at the "right" time using a suitable platform for specific needs and groups. With population growth and ecological changes (such as climate changes, nature changes, and the destruction of many non-renewable natural resources), it is necessary to think of measures to prevent abnormal events in emergencies. The emergence of artificial intelligence technology and its use in information systems as well as social networks promises that the use of this technology will be fruitful in investigating the possibility of accidents and it is easy to provide people with the correct information in an intelligent way. Also, the authorities will strengthen their communication with the community through this technology. Promoting smartphones and increasing bandwidth to high-risk areas will also facilitate data recovery in times of crisis and increase self-organization among people affected by accidents.
Atefeh Heshmatzadeh, Dr Hamidreza Amel Ardestan, Farshid Aslani,
Volume 10, Issue 4 (3-2024)
Volume 10, Issue 4 (3-2024)
Abstract
Purpose:Health systems are under pressure to improve their performance due to facing issues such as a sharp increase in expenses, safety, quality and justice, as well as the aging of the population, the spread of infectious diseases. Improving the performance of health systems requires that they work systematically Job performance refers to employee behavior that contributes to the organization's effectiveness. They suggest three possible reasons for the possible effect of knowledge hiding on job performance: First, knowledge hiding reduces the availability of knowledge to facilitate better performance. Secondly, employees who hide knowledge tend to have a mindset that they do not trust the support of other colleagues. The predictable result is that performance decreases. Finally, if knowledge collectors know that someone is hiding their knowledge, trust will decrease (Jiao and Cook, 2018). Therefore, hiding knowledge often reduces employee job performance for three reasons: reduced decision making, problem solving, and creativity (Davenport et al., 2016). Organizational pessimism is one of the topics of organizational behavior that has been raised recently, and its existence can have a negative impact on employee performance and organizational productivity, as well as individual health. Pessimism in the organization, before it is a personality trait, is a learned reaction that occurs among employees and is formed and increased in most cases due to a series of negative communications between employees and managers of the organization (Larinkova, 2017). A large number of employees tend to make deliberate efforts to hide tacit knowledge in organizations, which leads to many negative consequences such as repetitive efforts or reduced job performance (Beijer, Pechi, Veldhoven, & Paure, 2021). One of the reasons for hiding knowledge by employees is that they want to get a superior position and have the positive evaluation of others. It is achieved and also because of the fear of hosting "knowledge parasites" who only want to use the benefits of knowledge. Sometimes, hiding knowledge is done with the aim of avoiding its negative aspects, such as disclosing information to competitors. In addition, personality traits and cultural factors may affect knowledge concealment behavior, those who are not talkative are usually introverted in sharing knowledge with colleagues (Arshad and Ismail, 2018). Knowledge sharing has an effect on increasing efficiency, improving quality and increasing the competitive advantages of organizations, and therefore, organization leaders seek to find ways to increase knowledge sharing (Zhou and Jia, 2019). Leadership style is also very effective in the organization, transformational leaders based on interactive methods with their employees can increase the psychological capacity of employees and ultimately reduce negative attitudes such as organizational pessimism. Transformational leadership has a positive effect on knowledge sharing behavior. Leaders who have more relationships with employees can have a great impact on employees' attitudes and behaviors and ultimately on their level of pessimism. Leaders establish interactive relationships with employees by providing benefits and advantages such as fair and just treatment, support or independence of action. Through transformational leadership, employees can be encouraged, inspired and motivated to innovate, make them accept changes, endure more challenges and help in the development of the organization, as well as transformational leadership by establishing a connection between individual interests and Collectively, they make more efforts of employees to achieve the lofty goals of the organization and they are trying to change and transform in line with the goals and programs of the organization and according to the conditions. (Hosseini, Raij, Stiri Sharifi, 2010) Considering the basic role of health deputy in providing primary services and to some extent secondary services in Iran's health system and also considering the important and serious duties of the employees in the field of health deputy in order to maintain and improve the health of the society and since improving the performance of health deputies It can ultimately lead to the improvement of health indicators, so increasing performance and improving performance is more important than other organizations. Achieving goals in the health system depends on the correct and appropriate performance of employees, continuous and dynamic changes in the health needs of people and the expectations of people from the health system, requires the presence of knowledgeable and optimistic employees in the organization.The Deputy of Health plays a fundamental role in providing primary and to some extent secondary healthcare services in the healthcare system of Iran, and employees in the field of Deputy of Health have important and serious duties in maintaining and promoting community health. Since improving the performance of health deputies can ultimately lead to the improvement of health indices.Therefore, it is very important to know the influencing factors on increasing performance in any organization. Since no study has been conducted in this regard in Isfahan province's deputy health department and most of the studied studies have been conducted in areas outside the health department, which are different from this area in terms of the nature of work, so the importance and necessity of implementing The current research is clear and based on this, the main goal of the present research is to explain the role of pessimism in the job performance of employees of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences' Vice-Chancellor of Health with regard to the mediating role of hiding knowledge and moderating transformational leadership.
Research Methodology:The current research is a descriptive study, from the point of view of practical purpose and from the point of view of data collection, it is a survey type. The statistical population of the current research was all the employees of the Health Vice-Chancellor of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, numbering 235 people. According to Morgan's table, the number of samples was 140 people. But to ensure return, 200 people were selected as a sample by simple random method. This research was conducted at the health center headquarters of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences and the data obtained from questionnaires completed in the winter of 2011 were analyzed. The method of data collection was library and field methods. In the field method, to measure research variables, standard cynicism questionnaires with 5 items (Maslash et al., 1996), knowledge concealment questionnaire with 4 items (Peng, 2012), job performance questionnaire with 5 items (Chiang and Hsieh, 2012) ) and transformational leadership questionnaire with 4 items (Dai et al., 2013) were used. The spectrum used in the questionnaire is based on the five-choice Likert spectrum. The face validity of the questionnaire was checked and confirmed by experts. Convergent validity was also checked and confirmed with the average variance extracted. Cronbach's alpha was used to check the reliability of the questionnaire, which was obtained and confirmed for the variables of cynicism (0.838), knowledge concealment (0.833), performance (0.822) and transformational leadership (0.927), respectively. Due to maintaining the confidentiality of personnel information, questionnaires were distributed anonymously among the employees. Descriptive and inferential statistics methods were used to analyze the data. For the descriptive analysis of variables and data, statistics such as mean, standard deviation and kurtosis are used. Data analysis was done by structural equation modeling and SPSS25 and Smart pls3 software.
Findings: The results showed that pessimism has a significant effect on the job performance of health assistant staff of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. Also, pessimism has a significant effect on the knowledge concealment of health staff of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. But other relationships were not confirmed.
Conclusion: The most important determining factor in achieving organizational goals is the human resources of that organization. Organizational pessimism is one of the topics of organizational behavior and one of the important and influential factors on the performance of employees of any organization, the existence of which can negatively affect the performance of employees, organizational efficiency, and also individual well-being. The present study investigates the role of pessimism in the job performance of employees of the Deputy of Health of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, considering the mediating role of knowledge hiding and the moderating role of transformational leadership.
In examining the impact of pessimism on the job performance of employees, considering the coefficient obtained for the intensity of the relationship between pessimism and job performance and examining the level of significance, a weak significant relationship has been found, indicating a weak inverse relationship between pessimism and job performance. Therefore, with an increase in the pessimism of the employees of the health deputy, their job performance decreases.
Furthermore, Soufiani and Safandiaz (2017) concluded in their research that organizational pessimism has a significant negative impact on job performance. By examining the coefficient obtained for the intensity of the relationship between pessimism and knowledge hiding, and also examining the level of significance, we reach a moderate relationship between these two factors, indicating the significant number obtained and the presence of a moderate correlation between pessimism and knowledge hiding. Therefore, it can be concluded that the higher the pessimism among employees, the more likely organizational knowledge hiding behaviors occur. In a study by Babaei Meybodi and Alirezaei (2019), similar results were obtained, showing that rational knowledge hiding has a positive effect on job performance satisfaction as an intermediary role.
Jiang, Wang, and Jiang (2019) also in their research titled "Hiding Knowledge as a Barrier to Flourishing and the Mediating Role of Mental Security and the Moderating Role of Organizational Pessimism" concluded that the negative effect of hiding knowledge on mental security is higher at higher levels of organizational pessimism. The results of the research by Neguineh and Maleki (2022) also showed that pessimism has a positive effect on knowledge hiding behavior, and therefore, reducing pessimism can reduce knowledge hiding behavior and indirectly affect the job performance of employees.
One of the reasons why employees hide their knowledge is pessimism. It seems that there are reasons that strengthen pessimism, leading to a meaningful relationship between pessimism and knowledge hiding. One of these reasons is the belief that "knowledge brings power". Knowledge has been considered in many past studies as a factor of power, survival, and job security in the organization. Many employees still hold such beliefs, which lead to "distrust of the opposite person" and make them first assess the level of trust in the opposite person when requested for knowledge and then react to the request.
The results of hypothesis testing showed that there is a significant negative relationship between pessimism and job performance and also a positive and significant relationship between pessimism and knowledge hiding. No correlation between knowledge hiding and job performance was observed. In this regard, the results of the present study showed that pessimism and negative moods of employees have a negative impact on their performance and provide grounds for knowledge hiding. Since pessimism has many negative consequences for the organization, management should identify the factors affecting organizational pessimism, the precursors of creating negative emotions and moods in employees, and also consider the consequences that pessimism will have for the organization and employees, to control and minimize its negative consequences, by creating opportunities and places for expressing problems, needs, conflicts, and harassment that threaten employees, try to create a trusting atmosphere among employees. This action can help employees re-evaluate their mindset and reduce knowledge hiding behaviors
Research Methodology:The current research is a descriptive study, from the point of view of practical purpose and from the point of view of data collection, it is a survey type. The statistical population of the current research was all the employees of the Health Vice-Chancellor of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, numbering 235 people. According to Morgan's table, the number of samples was 140 people. But to ensure return, 200 people were selected as a sample by simple random method. This research was conducted at the health center headquarters of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences and the data obtained from questionnaires completed in the winter of 2011 were analyzed. The method of data collection was library and field methods. In the field method, to measure research variables, standard cynicism questionnaires with 5 items (Maslash et al., 1996), knowledge concealment questionnaire with 4 items (Peng, 2012), job performance questionnaire with 5 items (Chiang and Hsieh, 2012) ) and transformational leadership questionnaire with 4 items (Dai et al., 2013) were used. The spectrum used in the questionnaire is based on the five-choice Likert spectrum. The face validity of the questionnaire was checked and confirmed by experts. Convergent validity was also checked and confirmed with the average variance extracted. Cronbach's alpha was used to check the reliability of the questionnaire, which was obtained and confirmed for the variables of cynicism (0.838), knowledge concealment (0.833), performance (0.822) and transformational leadership (0.927), respectively. Due to maintaining the confidentiality of personnel information, questionnaires were distributed anonymously among the employees. Descriptive and inferential statistics methods were used to analyze the data. For the descriptive analysis of variables and data, statistics such as mean, standard deviation and kurtosis are used. Data analysis was done by structural equation modeling and SPSS25 and Smart pls3 software.
Findings: The results showed that pessimism has a significant effect on the job performance of health assistant staff of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. Also, pessimism has a significant effect on the knowledge concealment of health staff of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. But other relationships were not confirmed.
Conclusion: The most important determining factor in achieving organizational goals is the human resources of that organization. Organizational pessimism is one of the topics of organizational behavior and one of the important and influential factors on the performance of employees of any organization, the existence of which can negatively affect the performance of employees, organizational efficiency, and also individual well-being. The present study investigates the role of pessimism in the job performance of employees of the Deputy of Health of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, considering the mediating role of knowledge hiding and the moderating role of transformational leadership.
In examining the impact of pessimism on the job performance of employees, considering the coefficient obtained for the intensity of the relationship between pessimism and job performance and examining the level of significance, a weak significant relationship has been found, indicating a weak inverse relationship between pessimism and job performance. Therefore, with an increase in the pessimism of the employees of the health deputy, their job performance decreases.
Furthermore, Soufiani and Safandiaz (2017) concluded in their research that organizational pessimism has a significant negative impact on job performance. By examining the coefficient obtained for the intensity of the relationship between pessimism and knowledge hiding, and also examining the level of significance, we reach a moderate relationship between these two factors, indicating the significant number obtained and the presence of a moderate correlation between pessimism and knowledge hiding. Therefore, it can be concluded that the higher the pessimism among employees, the more likely organizational knowledge hiding behaviors occur. In a study by Babaei Meybodi and Alirezaei (2019), similar results were obtained, showing that rational knowledge hiding has a positive effect on job performance satisfaction as an intermediary role.
Jiang, Wang, and Jiang (2019) also in their research titled "Hiding Knowledge as a Barrier to Flourishing and the Mediating Role of Mental Security and the Moderating Role of Organizational Pessimism" concluded that the negative effect of hiding knowledge on mental security is higher at higher levels of organizational pessimism. The results of the research by Neguineh and Maleki (2022) also showed that pessimism has a positive effect on knowledge hiding behavior, and therefore, reducing pessimism can reduce knowledge hiding behavior and indirectly affect the job performance of employees.
One of the reasons why employees hide their knowledge is pessimism. It seems that there are reasons that strengthen pessimism, leading to a meaningful relationship between pessimism and knowledge hiding. One of these reasons is the belief that "knowledge brings power". Knowledge has been considered in many past studies as a factor of power, survival, and job security in the organization. Many employees still hold such beliefs, which lead to "distrust of the opposite person" and make them first assess the level of trust in the opposite person when requested for knowledge and then react to the request.
The results of hypothesis testing showed that there is a significant negative relationship between pessimism and job performance and also a positive and significant relationship between pessimism and knowledge hiding. No correlation between knowledge hiding and job performance was observed. In this regard, the results of the present study showed that pessimism and negative moods of employees have a negative impact on their performance and provide grounds for knowledge hiding. Since pessimism has many negative consequences for the organization, management should identify the factors affecting organizational pessimism, the precursors of creating negative emotions and moods in employees, and also consider the consequences that pessimism will have for the organization and employees, to control and minimize its negative consequences, by creating opportunities and places for expressing problems, needs, conflicts, and harassment that threaten employees, try to create a trusting atmosphere among employees. This action can help employees re-evaluate their mindset and reduce knowledge hiding behaviors
Safoura Parchami Afra, Seyed Mehdi Mirmehdi,
Volume 10, Issue 4 (3-2024)
Volume 10, Issue 4 (3-2024)
Abstract
Purpose: Internet and electronic services have become an integral part of the life of every member of society. People do many of their jobs, including obtaining and collecting information, buying products, booking hotels, banking services, and downloading movies, books, music, etc., through the Internet. There are various methods to gain the trust of customers in electronic business, one of the methods which is an introduction to the subject of this research is the use of electronic word-of-mouth advertising or E-Wom. In such a way that most of the customers are looking for a better evaluation of the products based on word-of-mouth advertising. Information about products and services shared by customers over the Internet is considered cost-effective; Therefore, information can be shared with many people at the same time with minimal cost. This type of communication not only affects the attitudes and behaviors of consumers but also affects the brand image of customers. Today, applications, e-commerce websites, and social networking platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook have created enough space for users to connect with brands. Communication that existed offline in the past has become more interactive. Consumers communicate with customers and other brands through mobile phones, and various social websites such as (Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram) by writing comments and online reviews on these sites. Needless to say, as the importance of online reviews is rapidly increasing. Online reviews are comments made by online visitors or potential customers about a product or service. These reviews are known as a tool for social benchmarking. User-generated content helps businesses build an online presence as well as build trust among design visitors. Online reviews have become an important source of information that allows consumers to seek accurate and reliable information by sharing the experiences of other consumers. A product or service review is made by a consumer who has experienced a service or purchased a product. Reviews are posted online on various platforms by consumers who have used or experienced a product or service. Also, a review of a product or service reflects the opinions and experiences of a customer in purchasing a product or service.Online reviews are becoming important sources of infor-
__________________________________________________________________________
The Journal of Human Information Interaction is supported by Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran.
This work is published under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 license.
mation for shoppers, influencing 20-50% of online purchase decisions. Many customers and consumers look for online reviews as the first step when making a purchase. Online reviews play an important role in predicting sales of many products and services and brand trust. Online reviews are as important to business as they are to customers.
There are several reasons why online reviews are important and will help build strong relationships with potential customers as well as increase sales and attract leads.It is very important to identify the factors that cause consumers to write reviews, and consider the acceptance of a new technology. Intention is not only an expression of clarity about the possible course of future action in a particular situation; Rather, it reflects the degree of preparation and intensity of efforts that are expected to lead to the desired outcome. The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) explains how people's performance of a specific behavior is determined by their behavioral intention for a specific task. TAM is developed to predict the possible adoption of a new technology by an individual or an organization. This model is based on the theory of reasoned action, which explains that behavior is determined by the intention to perform that behavior, attitude towards the behavior, and social pressure to perform that behavior Therefore, the current research was conducted in Hamedan City to investigate the intention of customers to do online review with the technology acceptance approach.
Research method: This research is applied in terms of purpose and descriptive in terms of implementation method. The statistical population of this research was the citizens of Hamedan. the sample size was 7 times the number of questions, i.e., 161 people, which were selected by the available sampling method. The formula 5q≤n≤15q was used to determine the sample size in structural equation studies. Sampling was obtained on the spot and through the online space. The tool for collecting data and information in this research is the use of an online questionnaire, including 21 questions, and data analysis has been done through the structural equation test and the partial least squares method using SPSS and SmartPls software. For construct validity, the measurement model of this research including convergent and divergent validity was conducted using Cronbach's alpha, composite reliability, AVE index, and Fornell and Larcker table. Composite reliability and Cronbach's alpha coefficient should be at least 0.7, which is acceptable based on the findings obtained from data analysis. The AVE index and factor loadings should also be greater than 0.5, which showed an acceptable value based on the results obtained from the data analysis.
According to the criteria of Fornell and Larker, a structural model should have more dispersion among its observables in comparison to other model structures, to be able to say that the hidden variable in question has high diagnostic validity. Therefore, the root mean extracted from each hidden variable must be greater than the maximum correlation of that hidden variable with other hidden variables. The results of the Fornell-Larker test showed that all the values on the main diameter are greater than the values in the corresponding column, which indicates that the used model has acceptable validity.
Findings: This research was conducted to investigate the intention of online reviews by customers according to the technology acceptance approach. According to the purpose and conceptual model of the research, seven hypotheses have been defined for examination. According to the results obtained from the structural equation method, the hypothesis of the significant effect of subjective norms on the perceived usefulness of online reviews is confirmed, and also based on the positiveness of the path coefficient, its effect is also direct. That is, the higher the subjective norms, the greater the understand
__________________________________________________________________________
The Journal of Human Information Interaction is supported by Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran.
This work is published under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 license.
ing of the usefulness of online reviews. Based on the obtained results, the hypothesis of the significant effect of subjective norms on the perception of ease of use was confirmed. Also, due to the positive path coefficient, this effect is direct. That is, the higher the subjective norms of people concerning writing an online review, the greater the perception of ease of use.
So, it can be concluded that when people notice the approval and acceptance of their online opinions by other people and understand that their opinions give other people a correct understanding of the product and service, it causes learning. It is easier for these people to write online comments on the Digikala site than for other people; Therefore, it creates the thought in these people that writing online comments is simple and easy for other people as well. According to the findings, the hypothesis of a significant effect of perceived behavioral control on the perceived usefulness of writing online comments has been confirmed. Due to the positiveness of the path coefficient, this hypothesis has a direct effect. That is, the greater the perceived behavioral control for writing an online review, the greater the usefulness. Considering the results of the research, the effect of perceived behavioral control on the perception of ease of use for writing online reviews by customers has been confirmed. That is, the more a person's behavioral control for writing an online review, the greater the perceived ease of use. According to the confirmation of this hypothesis, it can be concluded that having self-confidence, sufficient resources, opportunity and confidence in their opinions gives users a correct understanding of its simplicity and therefore it is easier for them to write online comments on the Digikala site. Therefore, this mentality is created for them that it is easy to write an online review on the Digikala site. According to the results, the hypothesis of a significant effect of perceived usefulness on the customer's attitude towards writing an online review has been confirmed. Considering the positive path coefficient of this hypothesis, its effect is also direct. That is, the higher the perceived usefulness of writing an online review, the more positive the users' attitude is. It can be concluded that to increase the attitude of users about writing online reviews, the role of these comments in increasing the information of other users and improving the performance and its role in purchasing the product and in general the usefulness of these comments should be understood. Based on the results of this research, the hypothesis of a significant effect of the perceived ease of use on the customer's attitude towards writing an online review was not confirmed and the hypothesis was rejected; Therefore, it can be concluded that the simplicity and ease of writing an online review on the Digikala site does not affect the users' attitude and other factors change the customers' attitude. The results obtained from this research show that the hypothesis of the significant effect of attitude on the customer's intention to write an online review has been confirmed. Due to the positive path coefficient, this effect is direct. That is, the more a person's attitude towards writing an online review is, the more the users will intend to do it; Therefore, it can be concluded that if writing online comments increases the awareness of consumers and changes their attitude, and also causes the transfer of positive and negative feelings about the products and services of the Digikala website, it makes users more intent to write online reviews.
Conclusion: Based on the present research, the online review intention can be explained by the technology acceptance approach. Based on this, having a favorable attitude towards online reviews is the basis of the intention to do it. Also, most of the variables related to the technology acceptance
__________________________________________________________________________
The Journal of Human Information Interaction is supported by Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran.
This work is published under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 license.
model shape the attitude toward online reviews. Therefore, paying attention to these variables is vital for those active in the field of electronic retailers.According to the confirmation of the first and second hypotheses regarding the positive and meaningful effect of subjective norms on the perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use, a trained and organized team can be deployed in the DigiKala organization and encourage and accept the online reviews of customers. and remind them that their online comments will make other users understand the products and services correctly and introduce writing online comments as an easy and simple task. According to the confirmation of the third and fourth hypothesis, which shows the positive and significant effect of perceived behavioral control on perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use, facilities such as praise and discount, as well as assuring users of their purchase, can increase the confidence of users. Also, due to the correct understanding of the beneficial effect of their comments on other users, and also considering the various ways to increase the self-confidence of users, he reminded them of the ease of writing online reviews and encouraged them to write online reviews. participate Considering that the fifth hypothesis is based on the confirmation of the positive and meaningful effect of perceived usefulness on users' attitudes, it is possible to write about the advantages and Positive Effects of Online Reviews on Payment Purchase Decisions. It is also possible to increase users' information about online reviews, which will change users' attitudes and encourage them to write online comments. According to the confirmation of the seventh hypothesis, which shows the positive and significant effect of the user's attitude toward writing an online review on the intention to write an online review, the DigiKala organization can educate users that online comments will increase their awareness. Also, these comments will convey positive and negative feelings about products and services so that users can use these comments before buying. Considering the importance of the role of online review in creating trust and selling more products, it is suggested that the role of online review be done for other areas in the e-commerce industry, such as tourism in Iran, buying and selling tickets, etc. The wider statistical community including the big cities of Iran that have a history of buying and using e-commerce services and online reviews should be considered to obtain more accurate and extensive results in this matter. It is useful to add variables as mediating variables or moderators related to the variables in this research to achieve more accurate results. The role of users' personalities and the moderating role of demographic variables can also be studied in the future to obtain a comprehensive understanding of online review behaviors.
__________________________________________________________________________
The Journal of Human Information Interaction is supported by Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran.
This work is published under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 license.
mation for shoppers, influencing 20-50% of online purchase decisions. Many customers and consumers look for online reviews as the first step when making a purchase. Online reviews play an important role in predicting sales of many products and services and brand trust. Online reviews are as important to business as they are to customers.
There are several reasons why online reviews are important and will help build strong relationships with potential customers as well as increase sales and attract leads.It is very important to identify the factors that cause consumers to write reviews, and consider the acceptance of a new technology. Intention is not only an expression of clarity about the possible course of future action in a particular situation; Rather, it reflects the degree of preparation and intensity of efforts that are expected to lead to the desired outcome. The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) explains how people's performance of a specific behavior is determined by their behavioral intention for a specific task. TAM is developed to predict the possible adoption of a new technology by an individual or an organization. This model is based on the theory of reasoned action, which explains that behavior is determined by the intention to perform that behavior, attitude towards the behavior, and social pressure to perform that behavior Therefore, the current research was conducted in Hamedan City to investigate the intention of customers to do online review with the technology acceptance approach.
Research method: This research is applied in terms of purpose and descriptive in terms of implementation method. The statistical population of this research was the citizens of Hamedan. the sample size was 7 times the number of questions, i.e., 161 people, which were selected by the available sampling method. The formula 5q≤n≤15q was used to determine the sample size in structural equation studies. Sampling was obtained on the spot and through the online space. The tool for collecting data and information in this research is the use of an online questionnaire, including 21 questions, and data analysis has been done through the structural equation test and the partial least squares method using SPSS and SmartPls software. For construct validity, the measurement model of this research including convergent and divergent validity was conducted using Cronbach's alpha, composite reliability, AVE index, and Fornell and Larcker table. Composite reliability and Cronbach's alpha coefficient should be at least 0.7, which is acceptable based on the findings obtained from data analysis. The AVE index and factor loadings should also be greater than 0.5, which showed an acceptable value based on the results obtained from the data analysis.
According to the criteria of Fornell and Larker, a structural model should have more dispersion among its observables in comparison to other model structures, to be able to say that the hidden variable in question has high diagnostic validity. Therefore, the root mean extracted from each hidden variable must be greater than the maximum correlation of that hidden variable with other hidden variables. The results of the Fornell-Larker test showed that all the values on the main diameter are greater than the values in the corresponding column, which indicates that the used model has acceptable validity.
Findings: This research was conducted to investigate the intention of online reviews by customers according to the technology acceptance approach. According to the purpose and conceptual model of the research, seven hypotheses have been defined for examination. According to the results obtained from the structural equation method, the hypothesis of the significant effect of subjective norms on the perceived usefulness of online reviews is confirmed, and also based on the positiveness of the path coefficient, its effect is also direct. That is, the higher the subjective norms, the greater the understand
__________________________________________________________________________
The Journal of Human Information Interaction is supported by Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran.
This work is published under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 license.
ing of the usefulness of online reviews. Based on the obtained results, the hypothesis of the significant effect of subjective norms on the perception of ease of use was confirmed. Also, due to the positive path coefficient, this effect is direct. That is, the higher the subjective norms of people concerning writing an online review, the greater the perception of ease of use.
So, it can be concluded that when people notice the approval and acceptance of their online opinions by other people and understand that their opinions give other people a correct understanding of the product and service, it causes learning. It is easier for these people to write online comments on the Digikala site than for other people; Therefore, it creates the thought in these people that writing online comments is simple and easy for other people as well. According to the findings, the hypothesis of a significant effect of perceived behavioral control on the perceived usefulness of writing online comments has been confirmed. Due to the positiveness of the path coefficient, this hypothesis has a direct effect. That is, the greater the perceived behavioral control for writing an online review, the greater the usefulness. Considering the results of the research, the effect of perceived behavioral control on the perception of ease of use for writing online reviews by customers has been confirmed. That is, the more a person's behavioral control for writing an online review, the greater the perceived ease of use. According to the confirmation of this hypothesis, it can be concluded that having self-confidence, sufficient resources, opportunity and confidence in their opinions gives users a correct understanding of its simplicity and therefore it is easier for them to write online comments on the Digikala site. Therefore, this mentality is created for them that it is easy to write an online review on the Digikala site. According to the results, the hypothesis of a significant effect of perceived usefulness on the customer's attitude towards writing an online review has been confirmed. Considering the positive path coefficient of this hypothesis, its effect is also direct. That is, the higher the perceived usefulness of writing an online review, the more positive the users' attitude is. It can be concluded that to increase the attitude of users about writing online reviews, the role of these comments in increasing the information of other users and improving the performance and its role in purchasing the product and in general the usefulness of these comments should be understood. Based on the results of this research, the hypothesis of a significant effect of the perceived ease of use on the customer's attitude towards writing an online review was not confirmed and the hypothesis was rejected; Therefore, it can be concluded that the simplicity and ease of writing an online review on the Digikala site does not affect the users' attitude and other factors change the customers' attitude. The results obtained from this research show that the hypothesis of the significant effect of attitude on the customer's intention to write an online review has been confirmed. Due to the positive path coefficient, this effect is direct. That is, the more a person's attitude towards writing an online review is, the more the users will intend to do it; Therefore, it can be concluded that if writing online comments increases the awareness of consumers and changes their attitude, and also causes the transfer of positive and negative feelings about the products and services of the Digikala website, it makes users more intent to write online reviews.
Conclusion: Based on the present research, the online review intention can be explained by the technology acceptance approach. Based on this, having a favorable attitude towards online reviews is the basis of the intention to do it. Also, most of the variables related to the technology acceptance
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The Journal of Human Information Interaction is supported by Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran.
This work is published under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 license.
model shape the attitude toward online reviews. Therefore, paying attention to these variables is vital for those active in the field of electronic retailers.According to the confirmation of the first and second hypotheses regarding the positive and meaningful effect of subjective norms on the perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use, a trained and organized team can be deployed in the DigiKala organization and encourage and accept the online reviews of customers. and remind them that their online comments will make other users understand the products and services correctly and introduce writing online comments as an easy and simple task. According to the confirmation of the third and fourth hypothesis, which shows the positive and significant effect of perceived behavioral control on perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use, facilities such as praise and discount, as well as assuring users of their purchase, can increase the confidence of users. Also, due to the correct understanding of the beneficial effect of their comments on other users, and also considering the various ways to increase the self-confidence of users, he reminded them of the ease of writing online reviews and encouraged them to write online reviews. participate Considering that the fifth hypothesis is based on the confirmation of the positive and meaningful effect of perceived usefulness on users' attitudes, it is possible to write about the advantages and Positive Effects of Online Reviews on Payment Purchase Decisions. It is also possible to increase users' information about online reviews, which will change users' attitudes and encourage them to write online comments. According to the confirmation of the seventh hypothesis, which shows the positive and significant effect of the user's attitude toward writing an online review on the intention to write an online review, the DigiKala organization can educate users that online comments will increase their awareness. Also, these comments will convey positive and negative feelings about products and services so that users can use these comments before buying. Considering the importance of the role of online review in creating trust and selling more products, it is suggested that the role of online review be done for other areas in the e-commerce industry, such as tourism in Iran, buying and selling tickets, etc. The wider statistical community including the big cities of Iran that have a history of buying and using e-commerce services and online reviews should be considered to obtain more accurate and extensive results in this matter. It is useful to add variables as mediating variables or moderators related to the variables in this research to achieve more accurate results. The role of users' personalities and the moderating role of demographic variables can also be studied in the future to obtain a comprehensive understanding of online review behaviors.
Abolghasem Karimi, Alireza Rousta, Majid Ahmadi, Saeid Daniali,
Volume 11, Issue 1 (6-2024)
Volume 11, Issue 1 (6-2024)
Abstract
Information search strategies change rapidly in continuous mode, and successive searches gradually teach the user what can be retrieved inside the system. Users must be able to interact with the system appropriately to achieve their information needs. The information revolution is not a new issue, but understanding information seeking behavior is important and vital in this era. In future projects, extraordinary efforts should be made to create intelligent systems. Therefore, success or failure in this matter is not the responsibility of the new information technology, but it requires awareness of human needs and his behavior to obtain information. Therefore, in the companies based in Pardis Technology Park, according to the technology-oriented approach and innovation, it is necessary to pay attention to the issue of market information learning and joint innovative capacities to improve the organization's performance. Generally, because the environment and technology are constantly and rapidly changing, and specifically, the demographic characteristics of customers and their expectations undergo changes and transformations, Certainly, in order to have a successful presence in the national and international arena and their dynamism, as well as greater adaptation to environmental changes, these companies should aim to activate their potentials through improving the performance of the organization. In fact, this research seeks to answer the question of what is the role of explaining the effect of market information learning ability and joint innovative capacities on the organization's performance with an information approach?
Methods and Materoal
This research is based on the applied purpose and according to the descriptive type of correlation, according to the model, we should use the structural equation modeling method. The statistical community of the research is top and middle managers of companies that are members of Pardis Technology Park in Tehran. Using Cochran's formula, 384 people were selected as a sample and 400 questionnaires were distributed by available sampling method and 387 questionnaires were collected in 50 companies. The data collection method of this research was done by library method and using books and articles, and questionnaire was used in the field method. To measure the variable of market information learning ability with 7 items, internal learning ability with 10 items, relational learning ability with 7 items and administrative innovation with 6 items from Teece et al., 1997; Weerawardena et al., 2015; and to measure the variable of service innovation with 4 items and organization performance with 5 items from Thakur & Hale, 2013 questionnaire; and to measure the variable of shared innovative capacities with 3 items, Oly Ndubisi et al., 2019 questionnaire was used.
Resultss and Discussion
Demographic characteristics of the sample include gender, age and education. In the method of structural equation modeling, the fit of the model is checked to ensure the accuracy and correctness of the findings before implementing the model to test the hypotheses. Also, Cronbach's alpha indices of combined reliability of average variance were extracted and the coefficient of determination was used to measure the model. The average values of the extracted variance of all 7 model structures are at the optimal level. The amount of Cronbach's alpha and composite reliability is for all model constructs, so the questionnaire has good and acceptable reliability. The amount of Cronbach's alpha and combined reliability for all model constructs is more than 0/7, so the questionnaire has acceptable and acceptable reliability. The value of R2 for the endogenous constructs of the research confirms the appropriateness of the fit of the structural model. The results of the Q2 criterion for the endogenous structure indicate the appropriate predictive power of the model regarding the endogenous constructs of the research and indicate that the fitting model has appropriate and favorable predictive power. Confirmatory factor analysis is used to measure the reliability and validity of the measurement scale. The final results of the confirmatory factor analysis are reported in Table No. 4. Factor loadings greater than 5% have good validity. Figure 1, shows the confirmatory factor analysis for the whole model. Figure 2, shows the analysis of significant coefficients for the whole model. Since all the numbers on the paths are above 1/96%, it indicates the significance of the paths, the appropriateness of the structural model and the confirmation of all research hypotheses. The GOF criterion was used for the overall fit of the model, Since three values of 0/01, 0/25 and 0/36 are determined as weak, medium and strong values for GOF and on the other hand, the coefficient is in a good condition (0/598), Therefore, the results show that the fit of the model in the statistical population of the research is appropriate. Also, the t-test for all hypotheses is greater than 1/96. Therefore, with 95% confidence, the relationship between the variables is significant.
Conclusion
The present research was done by explaining the effect of market information learning ability and joint innovative capacities on the performance of the organization with an information approach. Organizational performance is a valuable activity at the community level. It also has a fundamental role in the economy and is considered as a useful tool to achieve economic growth and benefits of the organization. In fact, it is like an umbrella that includes all concepts related to the success and activities of the entire organization. In this research, 7 hypotheses were tested and the results of the hypothesis analysis indicate that the ability to learn market information plays a role in the internal learning ability (0/945) and the ability to learn interfaces (0/785) and internal learning ability (0/220) and interface learning ability (0/662) have been effective on administrative innovation. Also, administrative innovation has had an effect on the organization's performance (0/488), and shared innovative capacities have a significant effect on service innovation (0/904). Finally, service innovation has played a role in the organization's performance (0/590).
Methods and Materoal
This research is based on the applied purpose and according to the descriptive type of correlation, according to the model, we should use the structural equation modeling method. The statistical community of the research is top and middle managers of companies that are members of Pardis Technology Park in Tehran. Using Cochran's formula, 384 people were selected as a sample and 400 questionnaires were distributed by available sampling method and 387 questionnaires were collected in 50 companies. The data collection method of this research was done by library method and using books and articles, and questionnaire was used in the field method. To measure the variable of market information learning ability with 7 items, internal learning ability with 10 items, relational learning ability with 7 items and administrative innovation with 6 items from Teece et al., 1997; Weerawardena et al., 2015; and to measure the variable of service innovation with 4 items and organization performance with 5 items from Thakur & Hale, 2013 questionnaire; and to measure the variable of shared innovative capacities with 3 items, Oly Ndubisi et al., 2019 questionnaire was used.
Resultss and Discussion
Demographic characteristics of the sample include gender, age and education. In the method of structural equation modeling, the fit of the model is checked to ensure the accuracy and correctness of the findings before implementing the model to test the hypotheses. Also, Cronbach's alpha indices of combined reliability of average variance were extracted and the coefficient of determination was used to measure the model. The average values of the extracted variance of all 7 model structures are at the optimal level. The amount of Cronbach's alpha and composite reliability is for all model constructs, so the questionnaire has good and acceptable reliability. The amount of Cronbach's alpha and combined reliability for all model constructs is more than 0/7, so the questionnaire has acceptable and acceptable reliability. The value of R2 for the endogenous constructs of the research confirms the appropriateness of the fit of the structural model. The results of the Q2 criterion for the endogenous structure indicate the appropriate predictive power of the model regarding the endogenous constructs of the research and indicate that the fitting model has appropriate and favorable predictive power. Confirmatory factor analysis is used to measure the reliability and validity of the measurement scale. The final results of the confirmatory factor analysis are reported in Table No. 4. Factor loadings greater than 5% have good validity. Figure 1, shows the confirmatory factor analysis for the whole model. Figure 2, shows the analysis of significant coefficients for the whole model. Since all the numbers on the paths are above 1/96%, it indicates the significance of the paths, the appropriateness of the structural model and the confirmation of all research hypotheses. The GOF criterion was used for the overall fit of the model, Since three values of 0/01, 0/25 and 0/36 are determined as weak, medium and strong values for GOF and on the other hand, the coefficient is in a good condition (0/598), Therefore, the results show that the fit of the model in the statistical population of the research is appropriate. Also, the t-test for all hypotheses is greater than 1/96. Therefore, with 95% confidence, the relationship between the variables is significant.
Conclusion
The present research was done by explaining the effect of market information learning ability and joint innovative capacities on the performance of the organization with an information approach. Organizational performance is a valuable activity at the community level. It also has a fundamental role in the economy and is considered as a useful tool to achieve economic growth and benefits of the organization. In fact, it is like an umbrella that includes all concepts related to the success and activities of the entire organization. In this research, 7 hypotheses were tested and the results of the hypothesis analysis indicate that the ability to learn market information plays a role in the internal learning ability (0/945) and the ability to learn interfaces (0/785) and internal learning ability (0/220) and interface learning ability (0/662) have been effective on administrative innovation. Also, administrative innovation has had an effect on the organization's performance (0/488), and shared innovative capacities have a significant effect on service innovation (0/904). Finally, service innovation has played a role in the organization's performance (0/590).
Mohammad Hassan Azimi, Hadi Alhaei,
Volume 11, Issue 1 (6-2024)
Volume 11, Issue 1 (6-2024)
Abstract
Introduction
The development of information and communication technology has a profound impact on various systems of societies, and these effects become more obvious over time. These fundamental developments have caused wide changes in various fields and organizations. The emergence of new opportunities in international competitions, the influence of new technologies in all aspects of human life, globalization and the increasing importance of human capitals in the age of knowledge and transformation, indicate that the requirements in today's organizations are different from the past. Considering the characteristic of the present age, which is focused on information and its exploitation, it is necessary that all ruling affairs be based on knowledge and information. Today, any country that seeks development in all institutions must strengthen the knowledge and skills base through an efficient system to achieve suitable opportunities. The impact of these changes on organizations and companies is also significant. Therefore, societies that seek to develop and enter the current competitive world must pay attention to this important matter by knowing their needs carefully and developing information technology. Therefore, considering the wide developments in the field of information and communication technology and its profound effects on various systems of societies, organizations should think about making their knowledge management processes smarter. In today's world, where information and its exploitation play a vital role, smartening the knowledge management processes can help organizations to increase their productivity and respond to global competitions. The smartening the knowledge management processes includes the use of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data mining so that the information and knowledge in the organization can be optimally managed and used. These processes can help identify patterns, predict trends, and make smarter decisions. Therefore, for the successful implementation of the smartening the knowledge management, this research has evaluated the feasibility of smartening the processes of knowledge management in South East Khuzestan Water Company.
Methods and Materoal
The current research is an applied research in terms of its purpose and is a qualitative and quantitative research in terms of method and is library and documentary research in terms of data collection method. The research method is analytical-survey and its data collection tool is a researcher-made questionnaire. In order to identify the main indicators and items related to each indicator, at first, the written knowledge in this field was collected and studied in the form of published scientific texts, and the important factors and indicators in making the company smart were extracted. The extracted indices were arranged in the form of 6 indices and 67 items and were designed in the form of a closed-ended questionnaire (five-point Likert scale). These indicators include information technology index, organizational culture index, manpower index, organizational structure, financial resources status index, and laws and regulations status index. The research community includes 60 senior officials and managers of South East Khuzestan Water Company. The purposeful sampling method was used to select the sample population and 50 people of the statistical population of this research were selected as a sample. The criteria for selecting people in this research is their expertise and proficiency in both areas of smartening and knowledge management. The questionnaire was provided to every member of the sample community and 42 questionnaires were returned. To determine the validity of the research tool (questionnaire), content validity was used, which is the approval of professors. For this purpose, the present research questionnaire was distributed to 4 professors of information science and epistemology, and its face and content validity was confirmed. Cronbach's alpha was used to determine the reliability coefficient of the questionnaire, which was reported as 0.84. SPSS 25 software was used for data analysis and the research questions were answered through descriptive statistics (demographics, frequency of responses, average) and inferential statistics (one-sample t-test).
Resultss and Discussion
Organization smartening indicators were identified in 6 categories and 67 items; Based on the findings of all the identified indicators, because its score is above 3, the status of this infrastructure is at a favorable level. Among these, the "Information Technology Index Status" index, the items of precision, accuracy and speed of access to information and the item of using and accessing high-speed internet, with an average of 4.40, received the most attention and points by experts. Also in all of the studeied items, according to the experts' opinion, the average of the total information technology index item was obtained equal to 3.67. According to the "organizational structure status" indicator, all the items in the field of organizational structure were in a favorable level according to the experts and among the items obtained for this considered index, the items of using regulations and bylaws to transfer knowledge in a smart platform, coordination of different departments in the implementation of projects, attention to communication and smart interactions among employees with an average of 4.30, received the most attention and points. The total average of the organizational structure index is 3.75. According to "status of organizational culture" indicator, all of the obtained items for the organizational culture index,according to the obtained average based of experts' responses were accepted and among the examined items for this index, the items of using and promoting electronic services, exchanging the scientific experiences of people with an average of 4.50 received the most attention and points. Based on the total average, i.e. all items of the organizational culture index, an average of 3.70 was obtained for this index. According to the "status of financial resources" index, all the items obtained for the financial resources index and the company's budget are at the optimal level according to the experts' opinion, and among the items examined for this index, the item of financing the infrastructures for smartening By obtaining an average of 4.50, they received the most attention and points. Based on the total average obtained from the financial resources status index, which is equal to 4.22,in terms of the "Manpower Status" index, all items were accepted by the experts, and among the items examined for this index, the item of attention to the organizational intelligence of employees (such as decision-making skill and problem solving ability, learning and modeling from experience of others, etc.) with an average of 4.30 received the most attention and points. Considering that the total average obtained from the manpower index in this index was obtained to 3.58, examining the findings in the section of the "status of laws and regulations" index, all the items obtained for the manpower index were also approved by the experts, and among the items examined for this index, the item of laws and instructions related to information protection and security with an average score of 4.40 received the most attention and points. Based on the total average obtained in this index, that it is equal to 3.70, which shows the desirability of these indicators and their impact on the smartening of knowledge management in the organization. Also, the findings showed that all research components are positive and significant at the p<0.000 level, and the variable of organizational culture with a t-statistic value of 205.24, the state of financial resources with a t-statistic value of 19.804, organizational structure with a t-statistic value of 258.19, and information technology with the value of T-statistic 707.16, they are effective on the smartening process of knowledge management in the organization. Also, manpower with the T-statistic value of 930.10 have the least effect on the smartening process of knowledge management in the organization. The findings also showed that the index of the status of financial resources with an average of 22.4 is more important than other indicators based on the experts opinion and needs more attention than other indicators.
Conclusion
Considering the extensive developments in artificial intelligence technologies and their key role in business and organizations, the smartening of knowledge management processes has become a necessity. Organizations need to be technologically updated to respond quickly to market changes and maintain competitiveness. This study shows that six main indicators, including information technology infrastructure, organizational structure, organizational culture, manpower, financial and budget status, and the status of laws and regulations, are necessary to evaluate the feasibility of smartening of knowledge management processes. These indicators help organizations to effectively and efficiently take steps in the path of smartening and take advantage of it. This research shows that all the investigated components are effective for the implementation of knowledge management smartening in organizations. Smartening the knowledge management processes by providing a suitable platform for collecting, storing, sharing and using the knowledge helps organizations to perform better in today's competitive market and make more effective decisions.
Based on the obtained results, the precision, accuracy and speed of access to the internet and using of high-speed internet are critical factors of the information technology infrastructure for smartening the knowledge management processes, which must be strengthened so that the smartening processes in the organization can be implemented well. Therefore, using of data validation systems and rich databases helps to ensure the accuracy of the input information and their accurate recovery. Also, the regular backup systems are essential to prevent loss of critical information. The speed of information access is also a key factor; using of high-performance servers, high-speed networks such as fiber optics, and advanced technologies can significantly reduce the time of data access. Therefore, all these factors together turn the information technology infrastructure into the basis of smartening the knowledge management processes in the organizations.
Organizational structure has a profound effect on organizational smartening. This structure should be designed in such a way that it supports the smartening processes and enables the quick and effective transfer of knowledge. In order to make the organizational knowledge management easier and smarter, one of the key aspects of this effect is to facilitate the coordination and effective communication between various parts of the organization. When the organizational structure is designed to facilitate interaction between units and teams, the flow of information and knowledge is improved and the communication barriers are reduced. This causes the knowledge to be transferred faster and more efficiently and make smarter decision-making processes.
In the implementation of the company's smartening, it is necessary to pay attention to the financial situation and the existing budget. This means that there must be sufficient financial conditions and budget for the establishment of smartening in the company, so that the company does not face problems or challenges in the way of implementing this important matter.
Organizational culture plays a key role in making knowledge management processes smarter. An organizational culture that emphasizes the knowledge sharing, innovation, and continuous learning creates an environment where information and knowledge are easily transferred and employees are encouraged to share experiences and collaborate. This culture supports innovation and encourages employees to seek and implement new and creative solutions, which in turn improves knowledge management processes. Finally, by strengthening the interaction and cooperation between employees, such a culture provides the basis for the smartening processes to be implemented more effectively and efficiently, and the organization can achieve greater productivity and innovation.
The financial situation of the organization has a direct and vital effect on the smartening processes of knowledge management. Adequate financial resources allow the organization to implement and update advanced technologies and knowledge management softwares. Investing in IT infrastructures, training employees, and developing smart tools requires proper funding. Without the necessary financial resources, organizations cannot effectively use artificial intelligence technologies and knowledge management tools, which can lead to reduced efficiency and productivity.
In addition, a stable and powerful financial status allows organizations to better manage the risks associated with the implementation of new technologies and to react quickly if the problems arise. Funding for research and development provides continuous improvement of knowledge management processes and puts the organization on the path of innovation and competitiveness. As a result, a suitable financial situation not only facilitates the implementation of smartening processes, but also guarantees the sustainability and success of these processes in the long term.
Finally, the index of the status of laws and regulations was considered and examined. In order to implement any matter in the company, it is necessary that a series of rules and principles govern the company in order to be able to proceed based on them. It means that it is necessary that there are directives and instructions so that they can be referred to in the implementation of this program, and even if necessary, it needs to revise the organizational rules and regulations. .
According to the results of the study, the status of laws and regulations index has a significant effect on the smartening of knowledge management processes in the organization. The existence of specific and efficient laws and regulations provides a legal framework in which knowledge management processes are implemented systematically and regularly. These laws and regulations can include guidelines related to information protection and security, intellectual property rights, data quality standards, as well as knowledge transferring and sharing procedures. Such a framework prevents the occurrence of legal and security problems and ensures that the processes of smartening the knowledge management proceed in compliance with legal and ethical principles.
In addition, appropriate rules and regulations can be motivating and facilitate innovation in the organization. By having regulations that encourage the use of new technologies and smart tools, organizations can more effectively utilize knowledge management technologies. Also, regular review of laws and regulations in order to keep pace with technological developments and changes in the business environment helps organizations to always stand on the path of innovation and productivity. Finally, the index of the status of laws and regulations is a key factor in ensuring the sustainability and success of smartening the knowledge management processes in the organizations, because it is necessary to create a legal and supportive environment for the implementation of these processes.
The development of information and communication technology has a profound impact on various systems of societies, and these effects become more obvious over time. These fundamental developments have caused wide changes in various fields and organizations. The emergence of new opportunities in international competitions, the influence of new technologies in all aspects of human life, globalization and the increasing importance of human capitals in the age of knowledge and transformation, indicate that the requirements in today's organizations are different from the past. Considering the characteristic of the present age, which is focused on information and its exploitation, it is necessary that all ruling affairs be based on knowledge and information. Today, any country that seeks development in all institutions must strengthen the knowledge and skills base through an efficient system to achieve suitable opportunities. The impact of these changes on organizations and companies is also significant. Therefore, societies that seek to develop and enter the current competitive world must pay attention to this important matter by knowing their needs carefully and developing information technology. Therefore, considering the wide developments in the field of information and communication technology and its profound effects on various systems of societies, organizations should think about making their knowledge management processes smarter. In today's world, where information and its exploitation play a vital role, smartening the knowledge management processes can help organizations to increase their productivity and respond to global competitions. The smartening the knowledge management processes includes the use of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data mining so that the information and knowledge in the organization can be optimally managed and used. These processes can help identify patterns, predict trends, and make smarter decisions. Therefore, for the successful implementation of the smartening the knowledge management, this research has evaluated the feasibility of smartening the processes of knowledge management in South East Khuzestan Water Company.
Methods and Materoal
The current research is an applied research in terms of its purpose and is a qualitative and quantitative research in terms of method and is library and documentary research in terms of data collection method. The research method is analytical-survey and its data collection tool is a researcher-made questionnaire. In order to identify the main indicators and items related to each indicator, at first, the written knowledge in this field was collected and studied in the form of published scientific texts, and the important factors and indicators in making the company smart were extracted. The extracted indices were arranged in the form of 6 indices and 67 items and were designed in the form of a closed-ended questionnaire (five-point Likert scale). These indicators include information technology index, organizational culture index, manpower index, organizational structure, financial resources status index, and laws and regulations status index. The research community includes 60 senior officials and managers of South East Khuzestan Water Company. The purposeful sampling method was used to select the sample population and 50 people of the statistical population of this research were selected as a sample. The criteria for selecting people in this research is their expertise and proficiency in both areas of smartening and knowledge management. The questionnaire was provided to every member of the sample community and 42 questionnaires were returned. To determine the validity of the research tool (questionnaire), content validity was used, which is the approval of professors. For this purpose, the present research questionnaire was distributed to 4 professors of information science and epistemology, and its face and content validity was confirmed. Cronbach's alpha was used to determine the reliability coefficient of the questionnaire, which was reported as 0.84. SPSS 25 software was used for data analysis and the research questions were answered through descriptive statistics (demographics, frequency of responses, average) and inferential statistics (one-sample t-test).
Resultss and Discussion
Organization smartening indicators were identified in 6 categories and 67 items; Based on the findings of all the identified indicators, because its score is above 3, the status of this infrastructure is at a favorable level. Among these, the "Information Technology Index Status" index, the items of precision, accuracy and speed of access to information and the item of using and accessing high-speed internet, with an average of 4.40, received the most attention and points by experts. Also in all of the studeied items, according to the experts' opinion, the average of the total information technology index item was obtained equal to 3.67. According to the "organizational structure status" indicator, all the items in the field of organizational structure were in a favorable level according to the experts and among the items obtained for this considered index, the items of using regulations and bylaws to transfer knowledge in a smart platform, coordination of different departments in the implementation of projects, attention to communication and smart interactions among employees with an average of 4.30, received the most attention and points. The total average of the organizational structure index is 3.75. According to "status of organizational culture" indicator, all of the obtained items for the organizational culture index,according to the obtained average based of experts' responses were accepted and among the examined items for this index, the items of using and promoting electronic services, exchanging the scientific experiences of people with an average of 4.50 received the most attention and points. Based on the total average, i.e. all items of the organizational culture index, an average of 3.70 was obtained for this index. According to the "status of financial resources" index, all the items obtained for the financial resources index and the company's budget are at the optimal level according to the experts' opinion, and among the items examined for this index, the item of financing the infrastructures for smartening By obtaining an average of 4.50, they received the most attention and points. Based on the total average obtained from the financial resources status index, which is equal to 4.22,in terms of the "Manpower Status" index, all items were accepted by the experts, and among the items examined for this index, the item of attention to the organizational intelligence of employees (such as decision-making skill and problem solving ability, learning and modeling from experience of others, etc.) with an average of 4.30 received the most attention and points. Considering that the total average obtained from the manpower index in this index was obtained to 3.58, examining the findings in the section of the "status of laws and regulations" index, all the items obtained for the manpower index were also approved by the experts, and among the items examined for this index, the item of laws and instructions related to information protection and security with an average score of 4.40 received the most attention and points. Based on the total average obtained in this index, that it is equal to 3.70, which shows the desirability of these indicators and their impact on the smartening of knowledge management in the organization. Also, the findings showed that all research components are positive and significant at the p<0.000 level, and the variable of organizational culture with a t-statistic value of 205.24, the state of financial resources with a t-statistic value of 19.804, organizational structure with a t-statistic value of 258.19, and information technology with the value of T-statistic 707.16, they are effective on the smartening process of knowledge management in the organization. Also, manpower with the T-statistic value of 930.10 have the least effect on the smartening process of knowledge management in the organization. The findings also showed that the index of the status of financial resources with an average of 22.4 is more important than other indicators based on the experts opinion and needs more attention than other indicators.
Conclusion
Considering the extensive developments in artificial intelligence technologies and their key role in business and organizations, the smartening of knowledge management processes has become a necessity. Organizations need to be technologically updated to respond quickly to market changes and maintain competitiveness. This study shows that six main indicators, including information technology infrastructure, organizational structure, organizational culture, manpower, financial and budget status, and the status of laws and regulations, are necessary to evaluate the feasibility of smartening of knowledge management processes. These indicators help organizations to effectively and efficiently take steps in the path of smartening and take advantage of it. This research shows that all the investigated components are effective for the implementation of knowledge management smartening in organizations. Smartening the knowledge management processes by providing a suitable platform for collecting, storing, sharing and using the knowledge helps organizations to perform better in today's competitive market and make more effective decisions.
Based on the obtained results, the precision, accuracy and speed of access to the internet and using of high-speed internet are critical factors of the information technology infrastructure for smartening the knowledge management processes, which must be strengthened so that the smartening processes in the organization can be implemented well. Therefore, using of data validation systems and rich databases helps to ensure the accuracy of the input information and their accurate recovery. Also, the regular backup systems are essential to prevent loss of critical information. The speed of information access is also a key factor; using of high-performance servers, high-speed networks such as fiber optics, and advanced technologies can significantly reduce the time of data access. Therefore, all these factors together turn the information technology infrastructure into the basis of smartening the knowledge management processes in the organizations.
Organizational structure has a profound effect on organizational smartening. This structure should be designed in such a way that it supports the smartening processes and enables the quick and effective transfer of knowledge. In order to make the organizational knowledge management easier and smarter, one of the key aspects of this effect is to facilitate the coordination and effective communication between various parts of the organization. When the organizational structure is designed to facilitate interaction between units and teams, the flow of information and knowledge is improved and the communication barriers are reduced. This causes the knowledge to be transferred faster and more efficiently and make smarter decision-making processes.
In the implementation of the company's smartening, it is necessary to pay attention to the financial situation and the existing budget. This means that there must be sufficient financial conditions and budget for the establishment of smartening in the company, so that the company does not face problems or challenges in the way of implementing this important matter.
Organizational culture plays a key role in making knowledge management processes smarter. An organizational culture that emphasizes the knowledge sharing, innovation, and continuous learning creates an environment where information and knowledge are easily transferred and employees are encouraged to share experiences and collaborate. This culture supports innovation and encourages employees to seek and implement new and creative solutions, which in turn improves knowledge management processes. Finally, by strengthening the interaction and cooperation between employees, such a culture provides the basis for the smartening processes to be implemented more effectively and efficiently, and the organization can achieve greater productivity and innovation.
The financial situation of the organization has a direct and vital effect on the smartening processes of knowledge management. Adequate financial resources allow the organization to implement and update advanced technologies and knowledge management softwares. Investing in IT infrastructures, training employees, and developing smart tools requires proper funding. Without the necessary financial resources, organizations cannot effectively use artificial intelligence technologies and knowledge management tools, which can lead to reduced efficiency and productivity.
In addition, a stable and powerful financial status allows organizations to better manage the risks associated with the implementation of new technologies and to react quickly if the problems arise. Funding for research and development provides continuous improvement of knowledge management processes and puts the organization on the path of innovation and competitiveness. As a result, a suitable financial situation not only facilitates the implementation of smartening processes, but also guarantees the sustainability and success of these processes in the long term.
Finally, the index of the status of laws and regulations was considered and examined. In order to implement any matter in the company, it is necessary that a series of rules and principles govern the company in order to be able to proceed based on them. It means that it is necessary that there are directives and instructions so that they can be referred to in the implementation of this program, and even if necessary, it needs to revise the organizational rules and regulations. .
According to the results of the study, the status of laws and regulations index has a significant effect on the smartening of knowledge management processes in the organization. The existence of specific and efficient laws and regulations provides a legal framework in which knowledge management processes are implemented systematically and regularly. These laws and regulations can include guidelines related to information protection and security, intellectual property rights, data quality standards, as well as knowledge transferring and sharing procedures. Such a framework prevents the occurrence of legal and security problems and ensures that the processes of smartening the knowledge management proceed in compliance with legal and ethical principles.
In addition, appropriate rules and regulations can be motivating and facilitate innovation in the organization. By having regulations that encourage the use of new technologies and smart tools, organizations can more effectively utilize knowledge management technologies. Also, regular review of laws and regulations in order to keep pace with technological developments and changes in the business environment helps organizations to always stand on the path of innovation and productivity. Finally, the index of the status of laws and regulations is a key factor in ensuring the sustainability and success of smartening the knowledge management processes in the organizations, because it is necessary to create a legal and supportive environment for the implementation of these processes.
Abdulamir Mabhoot, Mohammad Reza Farhadpoor, Ebrahim Hoseini,
Volume 11, Issue 1 (6-2024)
Volume 11, Issue 1 (6-2024)
Abstract
One of the most important current debates in organizational information security is information leakage. Information leakage, which refers to the unauthorized sharing of information by one organization with another, is one of the serious problems faced by organizations. Information leakage can cause losses to the company and affect its ability to gain a competitive advantage. Information leakage includes two types of leakage or intentional or unintentional disclosure of data or exclusive content to unauthorized persons. Intentional information leakage includes the intentional disclosure of information by employees to unauthorized persons. Deliberate information leakage is often caused by employee dissatisfaction with the company or a motive for personal gain. The main cause of intentional information leakage is revenge or unethical behavior of employees who are willing to betray their company or disclose sensitive information to competitors. In other words, if employees are not aware of how much information to disclose to outsiders, then unwanted/inadvertent information leakage may occur. These cases damage the reputation of the organization, its income and business. As a result, the pervasiveness of this uncertainty about information security in the work environment puts the organization's information assets at risk. In order to minimize or prevent information leakage, it is important to investigate and identify the factors that lead to this happening.
Regardless of the type of information leakage and the related motives, the impact of these actions in itself can lead to financial losses, disruption of the organization, loss of reputation and long-term impact on the organizational culture. Although the phenomenon of information leakage may happen in any organization; But considering the opportunities and values that every organization loses as a result, its importance can be understood. For this reason, the consequences of information leakage will be different from one organization to another, and accordingly, its degree of importance will also be different. The study and identification of factors affecting the phenomenon of information leakage is interesting from several aspects. First, the airport environment with the presence of various airlines is an example of a highly competitive market where the actions and operations of the airport are exposed to the customers. The second point is that the customers of the airport system are heterogeneous and may be people of different nationalities. Third point, the issue of security in airport systems is a complex and interesting phenomenon that is provided by the participation of different organizations. The fourth point is that the flow of information in the airport system is intense, intra-organizational and trans-organizational/cross-border. The fifth point is that the occurrence of an error in the flow of information in airport systems can have unfortunate human, financial, and other consequences. Considering these points, the present study was conducted at Ahvaz International Airport. Preventing information leakage is one of the most important security issues at Ahvaz International Airport. Because with the loss of data, the reputation of the airport is damaged and it loses its customers, it has to pay a high cost to fix the damages, and this will sometimes lead to the destruction of the organization. According to the mentioned contents, this research seeks to answer the question, what are the factors affecting organizational information leakage in Ahvaz International Airport? How are they ranked? Hence, the purpose of this study was to identify and rank the factors affecting organizational information leakage in Ahvaz International Airport using the Hierarchical Analysis Process.
Methods
Since the ultimate goal of the current research was to improve the understanding of the problem of information leakage as an important concern for the organization and to find a practical solution to reduce it, it is practical research in terms of the goal. Also, from the point of view of nature, the current research is descriptive-exploratory; Because what follows the data follower approach to "describe" and "interpret" the factors affecting organizational information leakage as it is. The research community was all information security experts in different parts of Ahvaz Airport; that by the snowball method (because it was difficult to identify the experts and the possibility of contacting and accessing them) 15 experts in the information security field of Ahvaz Airport (having relevant work experience of more than 15 years, a master's degree or higher and familiar with security issue and information leakage). In this study, the library method was used to compile the theoretical foundations of the research, the background of the research and the design of the decision tree. Then, the field method was used to distribute the five-point paired comparison questionnaire to collect data. The first questionnaire was taken from the research literature and was distributed among 15 experts using the Delphi technique. Opinions were sought from the expert group of the Delphi study, in the form of sending a structured questionnaire with a 5-point Likert scale, consisting of 22 questions, in two rounds with the participation of 15 people, in such a way that first, the first questionnaire consisting of 22 questions was sent to the members of the Delphi group. After distributing and collecting completed questionnaires and evaluating the results of this Delphi round, 5 main factors and 21 important sub-factors were identified (laws and regulations sub-factor with an average of 2.87±83 and a t value of 0.61 was not recognized as significant and was excluded from the questionnaire for the second round) and after twenty days, from the initial opinion poll, the important factors were re-evaluated in order to conduct the next round of Delphi in the form of a questionnaire with 21 questions related to the important sub-factors, the collected data It showed the confirmation of all subfactors. Finally, the data was analyzed using the hierarchical analysis method and using Expert Choice software.
Resultss and Discussion
Based on the results, 5 main factors and 21 sub-factors affecting organizational information leakage were identified. The weighting and prioritization of indicators showed that intentional individual factors (0.277) ranked first, unintentional individual factors (0.235) ranked second, organizational factors (0.188) ranked third, infrastructural factors (0.167) ranked fourth and environmental factors (0.133) ranked fifth.
Conclusion
The results showed that information leakage is a complex phenomenon that various individual, organizational, infrastructural and environmental factors are involved in its occurrence. However, the first and second rank of the intentional and unintentional dimensions of information leakage by individuals, on the one hand, indicate the complexity of the information leakage phenomenon, and on the other hand, require a review in the strategies related to human resources management in Ahvaz International Airport.
Based on the results, intentional individual factors with a weight of 0.277 were the first effective factors on information leakage in Ahvaz International Airport. Also, among intentional individual sub-factors, personal greed with a weight of 0.232 was the most important sub-factor and the experience of invasion of privacy with a weight of 0.078 was the least important sub-factor. The findings confirmed that intentional information leakage due to human factors should still be of concern to managers. Since it is not possible to abandon human factors in the organizational life cycle of information, managers should accept this challenge and look for appropriate mechanisms. In other words, despite human factors, organizations face the challenge of intentional or unintentional information leakage. Intentional leakage of information in the organization may have happened due to personal greed against organizational interests, where employees are willing to sell the organization's information to competitors for material reasons and prefer their interests over the interests of the organization. Jealousy of a company employee to colleagues or employees of competing companies, being dissatisfied with the company or feeling a grudge for any reason also causes the intentional leakage of information. Disgruntled employees may also intentionally disclose important information to unauthorized parties. Unintentional individual factors with a weight of 0.235 were the second most effective factors on information leakage in Ahvaz International Airport. Also, among unintentional individual sub-factors, negligence with a weight of 0.283 was the most important sub-factor and the use of contract and temporary employees with a weight of 0.133 was the least important sub-factor. An inadvertent leak occurs when an insider inadvertently discloses business-critical information that is not intended to be shared with third parties. Unintentional individual threat is the potential behavior of an individual who has access to the network, system or data of an organization through an accidental act or action, without malicious intent, and causes damage or significantly increases the likelihood of serious damage in the future to confidentiality, integrity Or the value of the organization's information.
Organizational factors with a weight of 0.188 were the third most effective factors on information leakage in Ahvaz International Airport. Also, among the organizational sub-factors, lack of understanding the value of information with a weight of 0.392 was the most important sub-factor and lack of proper intra-organizational communication with a weight of 0.262 was the least important sub-factor. The first is a lack of understanding of the value of information. Employees evaluate information differently depending on the hierarchical level, the type of information and the type of organizational structure. Employees' perception of the value of information is described by various researchers as an important aspect. This lack of awareness leads to the fact that the value of information is not clear, so the negative consequences of information leakage are not taken seriously by them. The second case is inappropriate organizational structure. Large companies are sensitive to data protection in the long term. Smaller companies do not have such extensive awareness. In general, organizational structure in terms of formality and existing control mechanisms may affect information leakage. The third case is the lack of proper communication within the organization. To achieve shared understanding, communication is required to convey a set of necessary values and norms that define the rules or context of interaction. Infrastructural factors with a weight of 0.167 were the fourth most effective factor on information leakage in Ahvaz International Airport. Similarly, among the infrastructure sub-factors, the weakness of information systems with a weight of 0.418 was the most important sub-factor and the presence of security holes in the network infrastructure with a weight of 0.258 was the least important sub-factor. The first is the weakness of information systems. Buying an incomplete information system and weak design of information systems may cause serious problems for organizations. Mechanisms that insiders use to perform business tasks based on their usual information systems can also be used to steal information assets. To prevent leakage and theft of information, mechanisms and protective measures against these methods should be used. The second case is improper use of physical means of data storage (hard drives, USB, CD, etc.). These days, most of the information inside the organization is stored electronically, the media of this information are hard drives, C drives. D. and U. S. etc.) are physical tools that are likely to be physically stolen. Preventing leakage with these devices requires implementing physical security measures. The third thing is the presence of security holes in the network infrastructure. The organization's networks are one of the essential parts of the organization's information technology infrastructure. There are several types of communication in the network. Internal-to-external communication includes any communication that is initiated within the boundaries of the organization and whose destination is outside the organization.
Finally, environmental factors with a weight of 0.133 were the fifth most effective factors on information leakage in Ahvaz International Airport. Also, among the environmental sub-factors, the stakeholders' request for information about security incidents with a weight of 0.416 was the most important sub-factor and the requirements of business partners with a weight of 0.259 was the least important sub-factor. One of the input sources that shape the behavior of people in an organization is the organizational environment. Employee decisions are influenced by environmental structure, the availability of environmental information, and the relevant meaning that employees assign to environmental information. The first case is the request of stakeholders to inform about security incidents. In the recent era, the demand for the type of information leakage events for companies is more intense, external and internal stakeholders are constantly concerned about maintaining a good public image of the organization. Overall, public interest in data breach incidents appears to exert pressure on organizations, while organizational responses are dynamic and appear to change over time. If stakeholder expectations are ignored and social influence is allowed to run its course, political and legal pressure will build, often leading to negative corporate outcomes. Stakeholder dissatisfaction arises when corporate actions do not meet societal expectations, and the gap between corporate actions and stakeholder expectations widens as public trust declines. Therefore, the greater the employees' understanding of information protection as a social expectation, the greater the perception of public leakage events as a threat to the company's image.
In general, the results show that information leakage is a major concern for organizations. In this context, the more the organization depends on information assets, the more relevant the concern of information leakage becomes. In such a situation, the taste of the competitors is stimulated more and more to think of the necessary mechanism to deal with it by getting the information of the organization, while being aware of the related organization's plans. Therefore, the identification of factors affecting information leakage in the form of 21 sub-factors in 5 groups provided the necessary insight to the managers of Ahvaz airport to strengthen the vulnerable points by adopting the necessary measures such as building trust, strengthening the sense of cooperation, observing professional ethics. , using motivational measures, raising awareness of the value of information, proper training of employees regarding information security, redesigning information systems, and designing targeted programs regarding information storage, sharing, and transfer.
Regardless of the type of information leakage and the related motives, the impact of these actions in itself can lead to financial losses, disruption of the organization, loss of reputation and long-term impact on the organizational culture. Although the phenomenon of information leakage may happen in any organization; But considering the opportunities and values that every organization loses as a result, its importance can be understood. For this reason, the consequences of information leakage will be different from one organization to another, and accordingly, its degree of importance will also be different. The study and identification of factors affecting the phenomenon of information leakage is interesting from several aspects. First, the airport environment with the presence of various airlines is an example of a highly competitive market where the actions and operations of the airport are exposed to the customers. The second point is that the customers of the airport system are heterogeneous and may be people of different nationalities. Third point, the issue of security in airport systems is a complex and interesting phenomenon that is provided by the participation of different organizations. The fourth point is that the flow of information in the airport system is intense, intra-organizational and trans-organizational/cross-border. The fifth point is that the occurrence of an error in the flow of information in airport systems can have unfortunate human, financial, and other consequences. Considering these points, the present study was conducted at Ahvaz International Airport. Preventing information leakage is one of the most important security issues at Ahvaz International Airport. Because with the loss of data, the reputation of the airport is damaged and it loses its customers, it has to pay a high cost to fix the damages, and this will sometimes lead to the destruction of the organization. According to the mentioned contents, this research seeks to answer the question, what are the factors affecting organizational information leakage in Ahvaz International Airport? How are they ranked? Hence, the purpose of this study was to identify and rank the factors affecting organizational information leakage in Ahvaz International Airport using the Hierarchical Analysis Process.
Methods
Since the ultimate goal of the current research was to improve the understanding of the problem of information leakage as an important concern for the organization and to find a practical solution to reduce it, it is practical research in terms of the goal. Also, from the point of view of nature, the current research is descriptive-exploratory; Because what follows the data follower approach to "describe" and "interpret" the factors affecting organizational information leakage as it is. The research community was all information security experts in different parts of Ahvaz Airport; that by the snowball method (because it was difficult to identify the experts and the possibility of contacting and accessing them) 15 experts in the information security field of Ahvaz Airport (having relevant work experience of more than 15 years, a master's degree or higher and familiar with security issue and information leakage). In this study, the library method was used to compile the theoretical foundations of the research, the background of the research and the design of the decision tree. Then, the field method was used to distribute the five-point paired comparison questionnaire to collect data. The first questionnaire was taken from the research literature and was distributed among 15 experts using the Delphi technique. Opinions were sought from the expert group of the Delphi study, in the form of sending a structured questionnaire with a 5-point Likert scale, consisting of 22 questions, in two rounds with the participation of 15 people, in such a way that first, the first questionnaire consisting of 22 questions was sent to the members of the Delphi group. After distributing and collecting completed questionnaires and evaluating the results of this Delphi round, 5 main factors and 21 important sub-factors were identified (laws and regulations sub-factor with an average of 2.87±83 and a t value of 0.61 was not recognized as significant and was excluded from the questionnaire for the second round) and after twenty days, from the initial opinion poll, the important factors were re-evaluated in order to conduct the next round of Delphi in the form of a questionnaire with 21 questions related to the important sub-factors, the collected data It showed the confirmation of all subfactors. Finally, the data was analyzed using the hierarchical analysis method and using Expert Choice software.
Resultss and Discussion
Based on the results, 5 main factors and 21 sub-factors affecting organizational information leakage were identified. The weighting and prioritization of indicators showed that intentional individual factors (0.277) ranked first, unintentional individual factors (0.235) ranked second, organizational factors (0.188) ranked third, infrastructural factors (0.167) ranked fourth and environmental factors (0.133) ranked fifth.
Conclusion
The results showed that information leakage is a complex phenomenon that various individual, organizational, infrastructural and environmental factors are involved in its occurrence. However, the first and second rank of the intentional and unintentional dimensions of information leakage by individuals, on the one hand, indicate the complexity of the information leakage phenomenon, and on the other hand, require a review in the strategies related to human resources management in Ahvaz International Airport.
Based on the results, intentional individual factors with a weight of 0.277 were the first effective factors on information leakage in Ahvaz International Airport. Also, among intentional individual sub-factors, personal greed with a weight of 0.232 was the most important sub-factor and the experience of invasion of privacy with a weight of 0.078 was the least important sub-factor. The findings confirmed that intentional information leakage due to human factors should still be of concern to managers. Since it is not possible to abandon human factors in the organizational life cycle of information, managers should accept this challenge and look for appropriate mechanisms. In other words, despite human factors, organizations face the challenge of intentional or unintentional information leakage. Intentional leakage of information in the organization may have happened due to personal greed against organizational interests, where employees are willing to sell the organization's information to competitors for material reasons and prefer their interests over the interests of the organization. Jealousy of a company employee to colleagues or employees of competing companies, being dissatisfied with the company or feeling a grudge for any reason also causes the intentional leakage of information. Disgruntled employees may also intentionally disclose important information to unauthorized parties. Unintentional individual factors with a weight of 0.235 were the second most effective factors on information leakage in Ahvaz International Airport. Also, among unintentional individual sub-factors, negligence with a weight of 0.283 was the most important sub-factor and the use of contract and temporary employees with a weight of 0.133 was the least important sub-factor. An inadvertent leak occurs when an insider inadvertently discloses business-critical information that is not intended to be shared with third parties. Unintentional individual threat is the potential behavior of an individual who has access to the network, system or data of an organization through an accidental act or action, without malicious intent, and causes damage or significantly increases the likelihood of serious damage in the future to confidentiality, integrity Or the value of the organization's information.
Organizational factors with a weight of 0.188 were the third most effective factors on information leakage in Ahvaz International Airport. Also, among the organizational sub-factors, lack of understanding the value of information with a weight of 0.392 was the most important sub-factor and lack of proper intra-organizational communication with a weight of 0.262 was the least important sub-factor. The first is a lack of understanding of the value of information. Employees evaluate information differently depending on the hierarchical level, the type of information and the type of organizational structure. Employees' perception of the value of information is described by various researchers as an important aspect. This lack of awareness leads to the fact that the value of information is not clear, so the negative consequences of information leakage are not taken seriously by them. The second case is inappropriate organizational structure. Large companies are sensitive to data protection in the long term. Smaller companies do not have such extensive awareness. In general, organizational structure in terms of formality and existing control mechanisms may affect information leakage. The third case is the lack of proper communication within the organization. To achieve shared understanding, communication is required to convey a set of necessary values and norms that define the rules or context of interaction. Infrastructural factors with a weight of 0.167 were the fourth most effective factor on information leakage in Ahvaz International Airport. Similarly, among the infrastructure sub-factors, the weakness of information systems with a weight of 0.418 was the most important sub-factor and the presence of security holes in the network infrastructure with a weight of 0.258 was the least important sub-factor. The first is the weakness of information systems. Buying an incomplete information system and weak design of information systems may cause serious problems for organizations. Mechanisms that insiders use to perform business tasks based on their usual information systems can also be used to steal information assets. To prevent leakage and theft of information, mechanisms and protective measures against these methods should be used. The second case is improper use of physical means of data storage (hard drives, USB, CD, etc.). These days, most of the information inside the organization is stored electronically, the media of this information are hard drives, C drives. D. and U. S. etc.) are physical tools that are likely to be physically stolen. Preventing leakage with these devices requires implementing physical security measures. The third thing is the presence of security holes in the network infrastructure. The organization's networks are one of the essential parts of the organization's information technology infrastructure. There are several types of communication in the network. Internal-to-external communication includes any communication that is initiated within the boundaries of the organization and whose destination is outside the organization.
Finally, environmental factors with a weight of 0.133 were the fifth most effective factors on information leakage in Ahvaz International Airport. Also, among the environmental sub-factors, the stakeholders' request for information about security incidents with a weight of 0.416 was the most important sub-factor and the requirements of business partners with a weight of 0.259 was the least important sub-factor. One of the input sources that shape the behavior of people in an organization is the organizational environment. Employee decisions are influenced by environmental structure, the availability of environmental information, and the relevant meaning that employees assign to environmental information. The first case is the request of stakeholders to inform about security incidents. In the recent era, the demand for the type of information leakage events for companies is more intense, external and internal stakeholders are constantly concerned about maintaining a good public image of the organization. Overall, public interest in data breach incidents appears to exert pressure on organizations, while organizational responses are dynamic and appear to change over time. If stakeholder expectations are ignored and social influence is allowed to run its course, political and legal pressure will build, often leading to negative corporate outcomes. Stakeholder dissatisfaction arises when corporate actions do not meet societal expectations, and the gap between corporate actions and stakeholder expectations widens as public trust declines. Therefore, the greater the employees' understanding of information protection as a social expectation, the greater the perception of public leakage events as a threat to the company's image.
In general, the results show that information leakage is a major concern for organizations. In this context, the more the organization depends on information assets, the more relevant the concern of information leakage becomes. In such a situation, the taste of the competitors is stimulated more and more to think of the necessary mechanism to deal with it by getting the information of the organization, while being aware of the related organization's plans. Therefore, the identification of factors affecting information leakage in the form of 21 sub-factors in 5 groups provided the necessary insight to the managers of Ahvaz airport to strengthen the vulnerable points by adopting the necessary measures such as building trust, strengthening the sense of cooperation, observing professional ethics. , using motivational measures, raising awareness of the value of information, proper training of employees regarding information security, redesigning information systems, and designing targeted programs regarding information storage, sharing, and transfer.
Saeed Ghaffari, Masoud Bakhtiari,
Volume 11, Issue 1 (6-2024)
Volume 11, Issue 1 (6-2024)
Abstract
Introduction
The purpose of this study is to propose evaluation criteria for assessing the user interface of national digital libraries for Payam Noor University. Payam Noor University's libraries have long preserved human culture and civilization, playing a significant role in the transmission of this culture through generations. As the main organization for a country's libraries, they must adapt to modern responsibilities to impact the development of libraries and information in the nation. Given the significance of designing a suitable user interface and the role of digital libraries at Payam Noor University, there is a need for research in this area. The study compares the user interface of digital libraries at Payam Noor University or selected digital collections with established criteria, identifying the richest library in terms of user interface within the studied community. The research questions include:
1. What is the status of each studied digital library regarding the 10 user interface criteria?
2. How well do the studied libraries adhere to the 10 user interface standards?
3. What is the best user interface recommendation for the digital library web pages of Payam Noor University libraries?
Methods and Materoal
The research uses a survey and descriptive method. The Norozi checklist (2018), which comprises 10 main criteria and 114 sub-components, serves as the research tool. A Delphi panel and descriptive survey method evaluate the libraries. Data collection is achieved through direct observation and scoring each component on the desired web page. The statistical population comprises 10 digital libraries affiliated with Payam Noor University in various countries. The final list of libraries was selected from those with English web pages, found through searches in Europe, North and South America, Asia, and the Pacific. The study's statistical population includes 10 digital libraries in America, Australia, France, Switzerland, New Zealand, Netherlands, Poland, Japan, India, and Italy. The research used the Delphi method and involved interviews with 10 experts. Some digital libraries with only the home page in English or in a non-English language were excluded. Similarly, certain cases, such as databases masquerading as digital libraries, were excluded as they did not meet the study's definition of a digital library.
Table 1. Selected digital libraries
The purpose of this study is to propose evaluation criteria for assessing the user interface of national digital libraries for Payam Noor University. Payam Noor University's libraries have long preserved human culture and civilization, playing a significant role in the transmission of this culture through generations. As the main organization for a country's libraries, they must adapt to modern responsibilities to impact the development of libraries and information in the nation. Given the significance of designing a suitable user interface and the role of digital libraries at Payam Noor University, there is a need for research in this area. The study compares the user interface of digital libraries at Payam Noor University or selected digital collections with established criteria, identifying the richest library in terms of user interface within the studied community. The research questions include:
1. What is the status of each studied digital library regarding the 10 user interface criteria?
2. How well do the studied libraries adhere to the 10 user interface standards?
3. What is the best user interface recommendation for the digital library web pages of Payam Noor University libraries?
Methods and Materoal
The research uses a survey and descriptive method. The Norozi checklist (2018), which comprises 10 main criteria and 114 sub-components, serves as the research tool. A Delphi panel and descriptive survey method evaluate the libraries. Data collection is achieved through direct observation and scoring each component on the desired web page. The statistical population comprises 10 digital libraries affiliated with Payam Noor University in various countries. The final list of libraries was selected from those with English web pages, found through searches in Europe, North and South America, Asia, and the Pacific. The study's statistical population includes 10 digital libraries in America, Australia, France, Switzerland, New Zealand, Netherlands, Poland, Japan, India, and Italy. The research used the Delphi method and involved interviews with 10 experts. Some digital libraries with only the home page in English or in a non-English language were excluded. Similarly, certain cases, such as databases masquerading as digital libraries, were excluded as they did not meet the study's definition of a digital library.
Table 1. Selected digital libraries
| Internet address | Name of the library |
| http://www.nla.gov.au/digicoll/ | National library of Australia (Digital collection) |
| http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/index.html | Ntional library of America |
| http://gallica.bnf.fr/?&lang=EN | National library of France(Digital library) |
| https://www.ehelvetica.nb.admin.ch/pages/main.jsf | National library of swiss(Digital collection) |
| http://ndha-iki.natlib.govt.nz/ndha/pages/Bugs | Newzeland national digital herittage archive |
| http://www.polona.pl/dlibra?action=ChangeLanguageAction&language=en | National digital library of Poland |
| http://www.geheugenvannederland.nl/?/en/homepage | Naional library of netherland |
| http://www.ndl.go.jp/en/ | National Diet Library (digital library of japan) |
| http://paniit.iitd.ac.in/indest/ | Indian national digital library in engineering science and technology |
| http://www.iccu.sbn.it/opencms/opencms/en/main/bdi/index.html | Italian Digital ibrary |
Descriptive statistical methods have been used to analyze the data of this research. The basis of data analysis was the check list, whose scores are based on yes (1) and no (0). Also, due to the quality of some of the sub-components, it was possible that the studied libraries did not comply with them equally, or in other words, absolute presence or absence could not be applied to them. Regarding these components, in addition to two levels of zero and one, 50% of the average score has also been used. The score obtained by each of the studied libraries in relation to each of the components is multiplied by the average of the coefficients obtained (weighted average) by the components from the Delphi panel. It should be noted that the weighted average of each of the components is given in the relevant tables in front of the sub-components related to each of the ten criteria. In the selection of tools, after reviewing the researches, the research of Norozi (2008) was chosen as the basis and it was adapted for the current research by using other researches. In preparing the desired list, he first extracted the most frequent criteria and components after studying the available texts and sources in this field, and then using the opinions of experts and using the method of list verification. This list was used for the present study because it was more complete and comprehensive in terms of the number of criteria to be evaluated and the components mentioned in the field of user interface of digital libraries.
Resultss and Discussion
In the first question, the issue was addressed to what extent is the status of each of the studied digital libraries in terms of the 10 user interface criteria. Out of 10 libraries under review, 8 libraries have managed to get more than 50% points. Digital Library of America with 598/68 points (70.42%), France with 573.56 points (62.09%) and Switzerland with 569.07 points (61.59%) are in the first three positions respectively. have The digital library of Italy is in the last place with 50.366 points (40.14%).
In the second question, it was addressed to what extent each of the 10 criteria of the user interface is observed in the studied libraries. From the obtained information, it has been determined that among the 10 investigated standards, the standard of the user interface language has the highest level of compliance among the standards by obtaining 98.35% of the points of the standard. Another criterion that is in the next position is the criterion of simplicity. Compliance with the components of this standard also seems necessary in terms of facilitating the user's communication with the library in question. The criterion that has received the lowest possible score is the user control criterion, which has received only 6.70% of the score of this criterion. Due to the characteristic of digital libraries in eliminating human factors, there is a need for more consideration in this field. To answer this question, the average of all countries in compliance with each criterion is used.
In the third question, it was discussed that what is the optimal user interface proposal for the digital library web pages for Payamnoor University libraries. However, by looking at the observed components, it is clear that most of the libraries have been successful in complying with the general criteria and most of the points obtained are related to the compliance with the general criteria that are of interest on the website pages and special attention is paid to the criteria that are in the scope of the duties of digital libraries. is not included due to the definitions. As seen in the previous questions, the standard of interface language has had the highest level of compliance. One of the reasons for observing the components of this standard in all libraries could be the fact that the language of these countries is not English, and for this reason, for the convenience and interaction of the user, we have tried to observe the writing notes related to the pages. Also, observing the writing points and brevity of the sentences is one of the important and main categories in the design of web pages. A successful digital library is a library that, despite the complexity of its system, can provide information to users simply and with the least amount of time. Also, by providing different options and facilities, it makes the user unnecessary to go to the library and provides the maximum amount of information for his community. More than half of the studied digital libraries, in the design of their user interface, have observed the evaluated criteria at a level of more than 50%, which should be taken into consideration by the digital libraries of Payam Noor University.
Conclusion:
Digital libraries should be able to improve and accelerate information access methods. The existence of various components of search functionality facilitates this possibility. The existence of different search capabilities is effective in more user interaction. The interaction steps should be in such a way that the loading of the memory is low and short. Due to the fact that the information society is developing rapidly, the time validity of the information may also change rapidly, so one of the important things is to mention the date of updating on the pages of digital libraries. The non-activation of library links is another reason for the library not being up-to-date. Therefore, it is recommended to include the update date on all pages. One of the characteristics of digital libraries is self-service expansion, so appropriate library guidance helps in this goal. Another feature of digital libraries is the elimination of human factors. As a result, it is necessary to have options to ask the librarian. The digital library should be able to provide appropriate guidance to users to enable them to obtain the information they need in the desired formats. The use of a suitable combination of color, font, shading options to distinguish them from nearby options, the use of clear images and symbols, etc., all affect the user's understanding of the system, which has been observed relatively well in the studied libraries. But some options require more attention. Determining mandatory information entry fields allows the user to easily get the desired results, which, based on the findings of this research, has not been observed by any of the libraries. The use of graphics, sound and images is effective on the user's understanding and makes the environment more enjoyable. Personalization, because it identifies the user's needs and successfully solves them, establishes a satisfactory relationship between the user and the system, so in the design of digital libraries, one should be taken into account Users of a computer information system may be different in terms of physical and cognitive abilities, personality characteristics and cultural factors, and these differences should be considered in the design of user interface elements and features so that different groups of users can be satisfied with the computer system. None of the mentioned cases have been taken into consideration in the interface design of the studied libraries, which requires more consideration. Error correction criteria, although they are important for the user's interaction with the system and reducing the user's error during work, are very few in the interface design of the libraries. study, have been considered. The method of writing, announcing and designing error messages to attract the user's attention should be taken into account, considering the elimination of human factors.Users turning to the Internet due to the lack of enough time to visit libraries was one of the reasons for creating digital libraries. Digital libraries have facilitated and accelerated users' access to the required information in order to provide various facilities. But what realizes this goal is a suitable architecture and design in creating a digital library. If the needs of users, the type of society and other factors are taken into consideration in the design of digital libraries, it can be said that the library will reach the desired goals. Due to the fact that in the design of digital libraries, the discussion of user interface is very important in order to eliminate human factors, digital libraries should consider the features related to the user interface in their design. Due to the importance of this discussion, the user interface of different digital libraries need to be continuously evaluated. The present research also aimed to investigate this issue by: "Evaluating the user interface on the English web pages of selected national digital libraries based on the criteria found in the texts and sources". Conducting the research needed criteria so that the evaluation could be done through it. After examining the history related to the research in the field of digital library and user interface, it was observed that despite the studies conducted in the field of user interface, these studies were not conducted in a complete and comprehensive manner and different researchers each have only one or a limited number of criteria. had investigated in the field of different information systems. The only comprehensive work done was Norozi's doctoral thesis (2008) and the researcher finally decided to use his model in the current research. Then, all 114 desired components were evaluated by direct observation on the web pages of the libraries under review. By looking at the observed components, it is clear that most of the libraries have been successful in complying with the general criteria and most of the points obtained are related to the compliance with the general criteria and more than half of the national digital libraries under study, in the design of their user interface, have evaluated the criteria. At a level of more than 50%, it is suggested that the digital libraries of Payam Noor University also use these criteria for more success. Based on the findings of the research, in order to improve the user interface of digital libraries, suggestions are provided for Payam Noor libraries:
1. In addition to observing the general components of the search, it seems necessary to observe the specific components such as proximity search, related keyword suggestion, marking of the search results, in order to save the user's time. And this should be seen in the libraries of Payam Noor University.
2. The existence of the site map facilitates the use of the library for the user.
3. Information display criteria should be given more attention in order to make system information accessible.
4. Reducing the time spent by the user and attracting and maintaining the user need attention. Users expect the elements on the first page to be important, so the existence of a site map, and access to pages with many visitors, are among the necessities.
5. In the design of the user interface of digital libraries, in addition to the criteria that are considered in the design of public websites, special criteria should be given special attention.
Resultss and Discussion
In the first question, the issue was addressed to what extent is the status of each of the studied digital libraries in terms of the 10 user interface criteria. Out of 10 libraries under review, 8 libraries have managed to get more than 50% points. Digital Library of America with 598/68 points (70.42%), France with 573.56 points (62.09%) and Switzerland with 569.07 points (61.59%) are in the first three positions respectively. have The digital library of Italy is in the last place with 50.366 points (40.14%).
In the second question, it was addressed to what extent each of the 10 criteria of the user interface is observed in the studied libraries. From the obtained information, it has been determined that among the 10 investigated standards, the standard of the user interface language has the highest level of compliance among the standards by obtaining 98.35% of the points of the standard. Another criterion that is in the next position is the criterion of simplicity. Compliance with the components of this standard also seems necessary in terms of facilitating the user's communication with the library in question. The criterion that has received the lowest possible score is the user control criterion, which has received only 6.70% of the score of this criterion. Due to the characteristic of digital libraries in eliminating human factors, there is a need for more consideration in this field. To answer this question, the average of all countries in compliance with each criterion is used.
In the third question, it was discussed that what is the optimal user interface proposal for the digital library web pages for Payamnoor University libraries. However, by looking at the observed components, it is clear that most of the libraries have been successful in complying with the general criteria and most of the points obtained are related to the compliance with the general criteria that are of interest on the website pages and special attention is paid to the criteria that are in the scope of the duties of digital libraries. is not included due to the definitions. As seen in the previous questions, the standard of interface language has had the highest level of compliance. One of the reasons for observing the components of this standard in all libraries could be the fact that the language of these countries is not English, and for this reason, for the convenience and interaction of the user, we have tried to observe the writing notes related to the pages. Also, observing the writing points and brevity of the sentences is one of the important and main categories in the design of web pages. A successful digital library is a library that, despite the complexity of its system, can provide information to users simply and with the least amount of time. Also, by providing different options and facilities, it makes the user unnecessary to go to the library and provides the maximum amount of information for his community. More than half of the studied digital libraries, in the design of their user interface, have observed the evaluated criteria at a level of more than 50%, which should be taken into consideration by the digital libraries of Payam Noor University.
Conclusion:
Digital libraries should be able to improve and accelerate information access methods. The existence of various components of search functionality facilitates this possibility. The existence of different search capabilities is effective in more user interaction. The interaction steps should be in such a way that the loading of the memory is low and short. Due to the fact that the information society is developing rapidly, the time validity of the information may also change rapidly, so one of the important things is to mention the date of updating on the pages of digital libraries. The non-activation of library links is another reason for the library not being up-to-date. Therefore, it is recommended to include the update date on all pages. One of the characteristics of digital libraries is self-service expansion, so appropriate library guidance helps in this goal. Another feature of digital libraries is the elimination of human factors. As a result, it is necessary to have options to ask the librarian. The digital library should be able to provide appropriate guidance to users to enable them to obtain the information they need in the desired formats. The use of a suitable combination of color, font, shading options to distinguish them from nearby options, the use of clear images and symbols, etc., all affect the user's understanding of the system, which has been observed relatively well in the studied libraries. But some options require more attention. Determining mandatory information entry fields allows the user to easily get the desired results, which, based on the findings of this research, has not been observed by any of the libraries. The use of graphics, sound and images is effective on the user's understanding and makes the environment more enjoyable. Personalization, because it identifies the user's needs and successfully solves them, establishes a satisfactory relationship between the user and the system, so in the design of digital libraries, one should be taken into account Users of a computer information system may be different in terms of physical and cognitive abilities, personality characteristics and cultural factors, and these differences should be considered in the design of user interface elements and features so that different groups of users can be satisfied with the computer system. None of the mentioned cases have been taken into consideration in the interface design of the studied libraries, which requires more consideration. Error correction criteria, although they are important for the user's interaction with the system and reducing the user's error during work, are very few in the interface design of the libraries. study, have been considered. The method of writing, announcing and designing error messages to attract the user's attention should be taken into account, considering the elimination of human factors.Users turning to the Internet due to the lack of enough time to visit libraries was one of the reasons for creating digital libraries. Digital libraries have facilitated and accelerated users' access to the required information in order to provide various facilities. But what realizes this goal is a suitable architecture and design in creating a digital library. If the needs of users, the type of society and other factors are taken into consideration in the design of digital libraries, it can be said that the library will reach the desired goals. Due to the fact that in the design of digital libraries, the discussion of user interface is very important in order to eliminate human factors, digital libraries should consider the features related to the user interface in their design. Due to the importance of this discussion, the user interface of different digital libraries need to be continuously evaluated. The present research also aimed to investigate this issue by: "Evaluating the user interface on the English web pages of selected national digital libraries based on the criteria found in the texts and sources". Conducting the research needed criteria so that the evaluation could be done through it. After examining the history related to the research in the field of digital library and user interface, it was observed that despite the studies conducted in the field of user interface, these studies were not conducted in a complete and comprehensive manner and different researchers each have only one or a limited number of criteria. had investigated in the field of different information systems. The only comprehensive work done was Norozi's doctoral thesis (2008) and the researcher finally decided to use his model in the current research. Then, all 114 desired components were evaluated by direct observation on the web pages of the libraries under review. By looking at the observed components, it is clear that most of the libraries have been successful in complying with the general criteria and most of the points obtained are related to the compliance with the general criteria and more than half of the national digital libraries under study, in the design of their user interface, have evaluated the criteria. At a level of more than 50%, it is suggested that the digital libraries of Payam Noor University also use these criteria for more success. Based on the findings of the research, in order to improve the user interface of digital libraries, suggestions are provided for Payam Noor libraries:
1. In addition to observing the general components of the search, it seems necessary to observe the specific components such as proximity search, related keyword suggestion, marking of the search results, in order to save the user's time. And this should be seen in the libraries of Payam Noor University.
2. The existence of the site map facilitates the use of the library for the user.
3. Information display criteria should be given more attention in order to make system information accessible.
4. Reducing the time spent by the user and attracting and maintaining the user need attention. Users expect the elements on the first page to be important, so the existence of a site map, and access to pages with many visitors, are among the necessities.
5. In the design of the user interface of digital libraries, in addition to the criteria that are considered in the design of public websites, special criteria should be given special attention.
ِdr Shahnaz Khademizadeh, Mrs Fatemeh Rafieinasab, Dr Natarajan Radhakrishnan,
Volume 11, Issue 1 (6-2024)
Volume 11, Issue 1 (6-2024)
Abstract
Introduction
With the emergence of the Internet and the expansion of information technologies in the current era, along with the increase in awareness and literacy levels in human societies, there has been a growing interest in accessing information in various fields. One type of information that has always captivated the general public is health-related information, as it directly impacts their quality of life. Health information encompasses a wide range of data that can influence decisions related to individual and social well-being. Electronic health resources play a crucial role in helping individuals manage important health issues, make informed decisions about their health, and communicate with healthcare providers. Studies have shown that internet users not only exhibit better adherence to treatment, reduced anxiety, and a greater sense of security, but also demonstrate improved self-care behaviors compared to those who do not utilize online resources (Riahi, 2017). By seeking health information online, individuals can gain a better understanding of their health status, which in turn can lead to the formation of informed opinions, beliefs, and attitudes towards healthy behaviors, ultimately aiding in making informed decisions regarding healthcare (Ahedzadeh and Sharif, 2017; Brown, Skelly, Chew-Graham, 2020). Therefore, the objective of this study is to explore the health information-seeking behavior of clients within health and treatment networks in Ahvaz city.
Methods and Materoal
The current research is an experimental study conducted using the pre-test and post-test intervention method. The research population consisted of 40 clients from Ahvaz Medical Center, whose average score of health information-seeking behavior was one point below the average. Of these, 20 individuals were randomly assigned to the control group. Additionally, two groups of 20 people each were formed using block randomization: one as the control group and the other as the test group for the intervention. The educational intervention took the form of a 4-hour online training workshop. To assess changes in online health information search behaviors, uncertainty, and cyberchondria in the study group, the Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) method was utilized. The protocol used for online education on social networks was the SDI protocol (Bhushan 2006, Juyani et al. 2022). A questionnaire served as the data collection tool, completed by the test groups within one month and returned to the researchers. Data collection occurred at baseline (pre-intervention) and at one, two, and three months post-intervention. Baseline scores were used as covariates in the model to adjust for differences between the control and intervention groups. The results of the GEE model reflected changes in the desired factors at the three measurement points post-intervention. Furthermore, Bonferroni's post hoc test was employed to compare the distribution of online health information search scores, uncertainty, and cyberchondria between the two groups at each time point. All analyses were conducted using SPSS software version 26.
Resultss and Discussion
Findings: There was no significant difference in the effect of the educational intervention on changes in the online health information search score (P>0.05). For the control group, the average uncertainty score increased over time. However, there was a significant difference in the effect of the educational intervention on changes in the uncertainty score (P<0.001). Results of the external post-hoc test comparing changes in the uncertainty score between the two intervention groups and the control group showed a significant difference in the distribution of uncertainty scores before the intervention (P>0.046), as well as two and three months after the intervention (P>0.001). Additionally, there was a significant difference in the cyberchondria score before the intervention (P>0.076) and three months after the intervention (P>0.025) in each case.
Conclusion
Health information behavior training is a positive step towards increasing the decision-making self-efficacy of community members and patients. When combined with other efforts to promote health and care, it can lead to improved health outcomes. The effectiveness of educational interventions in different groups depends on the methods, materials, and content used. This study found that a patient educational intervention aimed at teaching information-seeking behavior skills to health center visitors had a positive impact on reducing cyberchondria and increasing certainty. The availability of information search platforms, the type of sources used, and the ability to utilize them based on age requirements are important factors in information seeking (Bahadir and Dundar, 2022). Uncertainty and doubt can drive individuals to seek health information online (Khademizadeh, Rafieinasab and Radhakrishnan, 2024), making educational interventions focused on empowerment dimensions beneficial in improving clinical and psychological outcomes. These interventions can enhance quality of life for both society and patients, taking into account factors such as age, education, occupation, and income status. This research presents a new approach to educational interventions that are cost-effective, accessible, and complication-free for health management and promotion in society.
With the emergence of the Internet and the expansion of information technologies in the current era, along with the increase in awareness and literacy levels in human societies, there has been a growing interest in accessing information in various fields. One type of information that has always captivated the general public is health-related information, as it directly impacts their quality of life. Health information encompasses a wide range of data that can influence decisions related to individual and social well-being. Electronic health resources play a crucial role in helping individuals manage important health issues, make informed decisions about their health, and communicate with healthcare providers. Studies have shown that internet users not only exhibit better adherence to treatment, reduced anxiety, and a greater sense of security, but also demonstrate improved self-care behaviors compared to those who do not utilize online resources (Riahi, 2017). By seeking health information online, individuals can gain a better understanding of their health status, which in turn can lead to the formation of informed opinions, beliefs, and attitudes towards healthy behaviors, ultimately aiding in making informed decisions regarding healthcare (Ahedzadeh and Sharif, 2017; Brown, Skelly, Chew-Graham, 2020). Therefore, the objective of this study is to explore the health information-seeking behavior of clients within health and treatment networks in Ahvaz city.
Methods and Materoal
The current research is an experimental study conducted using the pre-test and post-test intervention method. The research population consisted of 40 clients from Ahvaz Medical Center, whose average score of health information-seeking behavior was one point below the average. Of these, 20 individuals were randomly assigned to the control group. Additionally, two groups of 20 people each were formed using block randomization: one as the control group and the other as the test group for the intervention. The educational intervention took the form of a 4-hour online training workshop. To assess changes in online health information search behaviors, uncertainty, and cyberchondria in the study group, the Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) method was utilized. The protocol used for online education on social networks was the SDI protocol (Bhushan 2006, Juyani et al. 2022). A questionnaire served as the data collection tool, completed by the test groups within one month and returned to the researchers. Data collection occurred at baseline (pre-intervention) and at one, two, and three months post-intervention. Baseline scores were used as covariates in the model to adjust for differences between the control and intervention groups. The results of the GEE model reflected changes in the desired factors at the three measurement points post-intervention. Furthermore, Bonferroni's post hoc test was employed to compare the distribution of online health information search scores, uncertainty, and cyberchondria between the two groups at each time point. All analyses were conducted using SPSS software version 26.
Resultss and Discussion
Findings: There was no significant difference in the effect of the educational intervention on changes in the online health information search score (P>0.05). For the control group, the average uncertainty score increased over time. However, there was a significant difference in the effect of the educational intervention on changes in the uncertainty score (P<0.001). Results of the external post-hoc test comparing changes in the uncertainty score between the two intervention groups and the control group showed a significant difference in the distribution of uncertainty scores before the intervention (P>0.046), as well as two and three months after the intervention (P>0.001). Additionally, there was a significant difference in the cyberchondria score before the intervention (P>0.076) and three months after the intervention (P>0.025) in each case.
Conclusion
Health information behavior training is a positive step towards increasing the decision-making self-efficacy of community members and patients. When combined with other efforts to promote health and care, it can lead to improved health outcomes. The effectiveness of educational interventions in different groups depends on the methods, materials, and content used. This study found that a patient educational intervention aimed at teaching information-seeking behavior skills to health center visitors had a positive impact on reducing cyberchondria and increasing certainty. The availability of information search platforms, the type of sources used, and the ability to utilize them based on age requirements are important factors in information seeking (Bahadir and Dundar, 2022). Uncertainty and doubt can drive individuals to seek health information online (Khademizadeh, Rafieinasab and Radhakrishnan, 2024), making educational interventions focused on empowerment dimensions beneficial in improving clinical and psychological outcomes. These interventions can enhance quality of life for both society and patients, taking into account factors such as age, education, occupation, and income status. This research presents a new approach to educational interventions that are cost-effective, accessible, and complication-free for health management and promotion in society.
- Khadije Akar, - Mohammad Reza Kiani, - Mahmood Sangari,
Volume 11, Issue 2 (9-2024)
Volume 11, Issue 2 (9-2024)
Abstract
Abstract
Introduction/Background: The huge volume of data and information circulating in social networks, along with their popularity and widespread use, exposes these networks to numerous security risks. Therefore, nowadays the security and privacy of users has become one of the most important issues in social networks. Many factors affect the security and privacy of users in social networks, among which this research examines the role of individual factors in the behaviors related to the security and privacy of users in social networks.
Methodology: This descriptive survey used a Researcher-made questionnaire on a sample of students of University of Birjand (375 participants). For questionnaire’s validity, the experts’ opinions was used, and Cronbach's alpha was used for questionnaire’s reliability (0.876).
Findings/: The average of users' overall awareness of security and privacy in social networks was significantly less than the optimal level, while the average of users' overall importance of security and privacy in social networks was higher than the optimal level. The amount of behaviors related to individual factors among the respondents was lower than expected. Also, the mean of attack experience variables, successful privacy changes, visit frequency, technological ability and skills, and perceived ease were significantly lower than desired; But the variables of trust in the system, perceived benefit, perceived risk and perceived importance were significantly more than the desired level. Also, the scores of undergraduate students in all variables were higher than those of master's and doctoral students
Results: Although the respondents attached great importance to topics related to security and privacy, their awareness of many of these topics was less than expected. Also, the subjects of this research did not perform the behaviors related to individual factors related to security and privacy in social networks as expected.
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