Human Information Interaction

Information Avoidance in the mirror of literature: A systematic review

Alireza Isfandyari-Moghaddam

Purpose and background: One usually think of information as means to an end. Despite the excessive worth of information - contrary to man's inherent need for awareness - some avoid information, favoring ignorance over knowledge. The purpose of this study is to elucidate the concept of information evasion, consequences and factors influencing it.
Methodology: The study was a systematic review of literature associated with information avoidance. Initially, terms such as "Information rejection," "Information escape," "Information avoidance," "Nonuse of information" were searched in the WoS and Scopus citation databases, as well as the Persian databases of Noormags, Sid, Elmnet, and the comprehensive humanities portal. MAXQDA software was used to study and analyze the literature.
Findings: Information avoidance is a set of selective behaviors and actions intended to stop, limit, and/or delay the search for, the encounter with, the processing of, and/or the use of unpleasant information. Information avoidance is multidimensional information. Various factors affect information avoidance some of which are personal, and some are environmental. Information avoidance has many types, including active and passive, comprehensive and selective, deliberate and defensive.
Conclusion: Some people avoid information by predicting the impact of information on their present or future lives. Information avoidance is still not well understood because a good deal of research has focused on information avoidance from a specific perspective. Although research streams cross at various points in terms of information avoidance. Given the harmful consequences of information avoidance, research policy should pay special attention to this issue so that, with the help of researchers in other fields, a solution can be found.

Information-seeking behavior of the everyday life of Kermanshah Kurds in social networks: an exploratory approach

Mitra Ghiasi

Aim: Growing number social network users for communicating between groups has made them a major segment of people's social life. So, the purpose of this study is to identify the factors affecting the use of social networks and information-seeking behavior in daily life of the Kurds in virtual networks and effect of ethnic identity on the behavior of information-seeking in their daily life.
Methodology: Research is an applied and quantitatively exploratory in terms of data analysis. Questionnaire was used which its validity was obtained by Delphi method and its reliability based on the weights test model, was significant in all weights of the combined external model with 99% confidence. Population consisted of 70,696 people from different social classes of the Kurds of Kermanshah. The sample size based on Cochran's formula was 480 users who were members of one of the online public and specialized social networks.
Systematic stratified random sampling was used in terms of percentage of jobs. Bartlett test, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis was used to analyze the data.
Findings: Findings show that all identified factors have the ability to predict the behavior of Kurds’ in information seeking in cyberspace: Leisure with standard coefficient of 0.82, cultural information with coefficient of 0.68, scientific information with coefficient of 0.56, economic information with coefficient of 0.75, social information with The coefficient of 0.74 and the consumption pattern with a coefficient of 0.52. Also, language with a coefficient of 0.30 and customs with a standard coefficient of 0.76 can predict the ethnic identity. In addition, virtual networks and ethnic identities with a coefficient of 0.54 are able to predict changes in the informational behavior of Kurds’ everyday life.
Conclusion: Leisure, cultural information, scientific information, economic information, social information, and consumption pattern were discovered and identified as factors influencing information seeking behavior in daily life, as well as language and customs were confirmed as factors of ethnic identity affecting the information-seeking behavior of the Kurds of Kermanshah.

Disciplinary-based (Professional) Information Literacy of Iranian Students in the Academic Year of 2017-2018

Heidar Mokhtari

Background and Aim: Information literacy is a foundation for all information-related professional skills for preparing them for better performing their careers. This applied survey aimed at determining the rate and level of DIL skills among Iranian students in the academic year 2017-2018.
Method: A 20 item researcher-made valid and reliable questionnaire on DIL was prepared by conducting a comprehensive literature review. Questionnaires were completed by 1875 male/female students as a purposeful sample, majoring in different disciplines, academic levels at different Iranian Universities in the academic year of 2017-2018. Data was analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics.
Findings: Findings showed that several students (39.6%) had a relatively low DIL level and the mean rate of their DIL skills was a moderate (8.34 %). Differences were significant in regard to discipline, academic levels and Universities. Further, there was no significant difference between male and female students in their DIL levels. However, there was a significant difference in DIL scores among students majoring basic sciences. Considering the educational levels, Doctorate candidates had significantly higher DIL scores than undergraduate and graduate students. Students in private Universities had significantly lower DIL scores than students in State Universities.
Conclusion: Disciplinary-based information literacy has not been very efficacious in Iranian Universities. Designing an IL-synthesized curriculum and turning toward the information literate University in training professionally information-literate students is the drive for achieving a successful higher education system in Iran.
Originality/Value: This study has equally theoretical and practical implications. Practically, depicts the general state of Iranian students' DIL levels, it can apprise Iran's higher educational system of the inevitability of drill skills as such in academic curriculum in all educational levels and scientific disciplines. As DIL is initially introduced in this study, it can be inspiring the theoretical approach of information literacy and its literature by adding a newly-emerged notion of "disciplinary-based information literacy."

Opinion Mining, Social Networks, Higher Education

Maryam Babaee

Background and Aim: With the advent of technology and the use of social networks such as Instagram, Facebook, blogs, forums, and many other platforms, interactions of learners with one another and their lecturers have become progressively relaxed. This has led to the accumulation of large quantities of data and information about students' attitudes, learning experiences, opinions, and feelings about the teaching-learning process. Opinion mining is one of the growing applications of data mining knowledge which by discovering patterns and models in users' opinions could help higher education to well plan, make well-versed policies, and to have fruitful management. Therefore, the purpose is to describe the applications of opinion mining to advance the excellence of higher education in Iran.
Methodology: Research method is an applied qualitative one. Population comprises of all the research and books associated with opinion mining that were available in reputable databases of IEEE, SSCI, Elsevier, CIVILICA, and Science Direct during the research data collection period in the spring of 2019. Using the convenience sampling method, 35 articles were selected with the aim of reviewing and describing educational opinion mining and analyzing its application in higher education.
Results: Based on the studies, it was found that opinion mining can be used as an effective tool in three parts: 1. Improving student performance; 2. Designing better online courses; and 3. Evaluating the efficiency of the educational activities of universities, professors, and various programs. Therefore it can also help to recognize the existing shortcomings, strengths, and weaknesses.
Conclusion: Higher education can scrutinize the sentiments, opinions, and ideas generated by students through opinion mining. Exploring this valuable information enables educational institutions, principals, and educators to make more appropriate decisions in education and improve the quality of educational services which leads to the improvement of academic performance and better career choices for individuals.

Providing a local model of guerrilla marketing in small and medium-sized start-ups in Iran Based on the theory of corporate information behavior

Ahmad Askari

Background and Aim: Considering the importance of customer behavior, the purpose of this study is to present a local marketing model with emphasis on consumers' attitudes to purchase Iranian products with a customer information behavior approach.
Research Method: The method of this research was data-based theory and data collection was done through semi-structured interviews. Also, the statistical population of this research has been selected from all prominent academic experts with a scientific background related to marketing management and consumer behavior, managers and experts of companies.
Results: The results of the present study show the extraction of 6 main dimensions and 32 pivotal components in the form of a paradigm model including guerrilla marketing as a central category and causal conditions (knowledge, skills and marketing), underlying factors (functional advantages). Brand and social responsibility, intervening conditions (power resources, learning-based empowerment, communication model, customer relationship and consumer nationalism), strategies (corporate communication, comprehensive strategic planning, branding, creativity and innovation, Public relations and advertising) and consequences (intensity of brand competition, resource allocation, brand perception, branding and brand credibility).
Conclusion: Guerrilla marketing needs open minds and new attitudes to create amazing vibrancy in the audience by destroying the monotony of advertising. It has also replaced experience and imagination with high advertising costs, which have been very effective and useful based on psychological positions. In this type of marketing, not only the sale of the product and service is important, but also the profit of the sale of these products is highly considered.

Emotions and information seeking: how does emotion manifest in infor-mation seeking behavior?

saiede khalilian

Background and Aim: Information seeking behavior arises when one feels a void in his/her knowledge which inspires one to acquire new information. The central point in explaining behavior is the fact that many features influence its occurrence, and emotions are considered to be a major element involved in human information behavior. Also, Information seeking is a positive and negative emotional experience. The aim was to survey the role of emotions in information behavior.
Method: Library research method was applied to study theoretical foundations and conceptual relationships of emotions in relation to information needs and related concepts.
Results: By conceptual studies of the models process of information retrieval behavior of Kuhlthau and Nahl, it was found that emotional factors are very important in information retrieval and information-seeking behavior, which is influenced by negative (uncertainty, fear, anger) and positive emotions (happy, confident, satisfied). Negative emotions increase at the beginning and over time and in the process of searching for information, decreases, while positive emotions intensifies. Also, these results indicate that positive emotions may help individuals acquire information to resolve an existing problem, whereas negative emotions may aid individuals acquire information when there is no apparent problem.
Conclusion: In order to solve information need and to attain appropriate desirable feedback, it is necessary that emotions be well identified and understood by both the user and the information systems, so they could be better controlled.

Investigating the Effectiveness of Teacher's Ethical Decision Making on Professional Ethics of Managers Based on the Mediating Role of Infor-mation Literacy: A Case Study

Ramin Gharibzadeh

Background and Aim: The purpose was to analyze the effect of administrators professional ethics on teachers' ethical decision making by examining the mediating role of information literacy among teachers in the second district of Urmia.
Method: Study is a descriptive, correlational survey. Population comprised of 982 teachers in District 2, of which 262 were selected by simple random sampling method using Morgan table. Instruments were: Ghasemzadeh et al.'s Professional Ethics Questionnaire (2013), Katl Ethical Decision Making Questionnaire (2003), and Davarpanapah DAS Information Literacy Questionnaire (2008). Validity (content, convergent and divergent) and reliability (factor loading, composite reliability coefficient and Cronbach's alpha coefficient) of the questionnaires indicated that the measuring instruments have a good validity and reliability.
Results: Results of hypotheses testing by SMART-PLS software, using t-test and path coefficients (β) showed that professional ethics has a strong, direct significant effect on information literacy of teachers in District Two of Urmia. Also, professional ethics and information literacy have a strong, direct significant effect on the moral decision-making of teachers in the second district of Urmia. Then again, information literacy can play a mediating role in the relation of professional ethics and teachers 'ethical decision-making. Professional ethics may be used as a moderating variable to enhance the positive effect, information literacy has on teachers' ethical decision-making.
Conclusion: Managers through in-service training increase teachers' information literacy, subsequently creating an honest relationship with teachers to transfer ethics to them and participate in decision-making to prove responsibility and honesty in matters to them and in the result of school affairs is going well.