Student use of electronic information services in further education

Urquhart,C., Thomas, R., Spink, S., Fenton, R., Yeoman, A., Lonsdale, R., Armstrong, C., Banwell, L., Ray, K., Coulson, G. & Rowley, J. (2005). Student use of electronic information services in further education. International Journal of Information Management, 25(4), 347-362. Sponsorship: JISC

Evaluating SWICE-R (South West Information for Clinical Effectiveness - Rural). Final report for South West Workforce Development Confederations (Knowledge Resources Development Unit)

Yeoman, A., Durbin, J. & Urquhart, C. (2004). Evaluating SWICE-R (South West Information for Clinical Effectiveness - Rural). Final report for South West Workforce Development Confederations, (Knowledge Resources Development Unit). Aberystwyth: Department of Information Studies, University of Wales Aberystwyth. Sponsorship: South West WDCs (NHS)

JUSTEIS: JISC Usage Surveys: Trends in Electronic Information Services Final report 2003/2004 Cycle Five

Urquhart, C., Spink, S., Thomas, R., Yeoman, A., Durbin, J., Turner, J., Fenton, R. & Armstrong, C. (2004). JUSTEIS: JISC Usage Surveys: Trends in Electronic Information Services Final report 2003/2004 Cycle Five. Aberystwyth: Department of Information Studies, University of Wales Aberystwyth. Sponsorship: JISC

Trends in use of electronic journals in higher education in the UK - views of academic staff and students

Bonthron, Karen; Urquhart, Christine; Thomas, Rhian; Armstrong, Chris; Ellis, David; Everitt, Jean; Fenton, Roger; Lonsdale, Ray; McDermott, Elizabeth; Morris, Helen; Phillips, Rebecca; Spink, Sian, and Yeoman, Alison. (2003, June). Trends in use of electronic journals in higher education in the UK - views of academic staff and students. D-Lib Magazine, 9(6). Retrieved September 8, 2006 from http://www.dlib.org/dlib/june03/urquhart/06urquhart.html This item is freely available online at http://www.dlib.org/dlib/june03/urquhart/06urquhart.html Sponsorship: JISC

Understanding student information behavior in relation to electronic information services: lessons from longitudinal monitoring and evaluation Part 1

Rowley, J.& Urquhart, C. (2007). Understanding student information behavior in relation to electronic information services: lessons from longitudinal monitoring and evaluation Part 1. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 58(8), 1162-1174. Sponsorship: JISC

Rural information needs. Final report for Mid Wales Library and Information Partnership

Thomas, R., Crossan, S., Urquhart, C. & Hines, B. (2008). Rural information needs. Final report for Mid Wales Library and Information Partnership. Aberystwyth: Department of Information Studies, Aberystwyth University Sponsorship: Mid Wales Library and Information Partnership

The utility of survey and administrative data to generate information for research and outcomes-based oral health services development

The aim of this research, which focused on the Irish adult population, was to generate information for policymakers by applying statistical analyses and current technologies to oral health administrative and survey databases. Objectives included identifying socio-demographic influences on oral health and utilisation of dental services, comparing epidemiologically-estimated dental treatment need with treatment provided, and investigating the potential of a dental administrative database to provide information on utilisation of services and the volume and types of treatment provided over time. Information was extracted from the claims databases for the Dental Treatment Benefit Scheme (DTBS) for employed adults and the Dental Treatment Services Scheme (DTSS) for less-well-off adults, the National Surveys of Adult Oral Health, and the 2007 Survey of Lifestyle Attitudes and Nutrition in Ireland. Factors associated with utilisation and retention of natural teeth were analysed using count data models and logistic regression. The chi-square test and the student’s t-test were used to compare epidemiologically-estimated need in a representative sample of adults with treatment provided. Differences were found in dental care utilisation and tooth retention by Socio-Economic Status. An analysis of the five-year utilisation behaviour of a 2003 cohort of DTBS dental attendees revealed that age and being female were positively associated with visiting annually and number of treatments. Number of adults using the DTBS increased, and mean number of treatments per patient decreased, between 1997 and 2008. As a percentage of overall treatments, restorations, dentures, and extractions decreased, while prophylaxis increased. Differences were found between epidemiologically-estimated treatment need and treatment provided for those using the DTBS and DTSS. This research confirms the utility of survey and administrative data to generate knowledge for policymakers. Public administrative databases have not been designed for research purposes, but they have the potential to provide a wealth of knowledge on treatments provided and utilisation patterns.

Mobilizing Maryland: a look into the voting tendencies of students at the University of Maryland

Gemstone Team VOTE-CP (Voice of the Electorate - Collegiate Participation)

Studies on Understanding Individual Willingness to Disclose Genetic Information to Public and Private Stakeholders

While technologies for genetic sequencing have increased the promise of personalized medicine, they simultaneously pose threats to personal privacy. The public’s desire to protect itself from unauthorized access to information may limit the uses of this valuable resource. To date, there is limited understanding about the public’s attitudes toward the regulation and sharing of such information. We sought to understand the drivers of individuals’ decisions to disclose genetic information to a third party in a setting where disclosure potentially creates both private and social benefits, but also carries the risk of potential misuse of private information. We conducted two separate but related studies. First, we administered surveys to college students and parents, to determine individual attitudes toward and inter-generational influences on the disclosure decision. Second, we conducted a game-theory based experiment that assessed how participants’ decisions to disclose genetic information are influenced by societal and health factors. Key survey findings indicate that concerns about genetic information privacy negatively impact the likelihood of disclosure while the perceived benefits of disclosure and trust in the institution receiving the information have a positive influence. The experiment results also show that the risk of discrimination negatively affects the likelihood of disclosure, while the positive impact that disclosure has on the probability of finding a cure and the presence of a monetary incentive to disclose, increase the likelihood. We also study the determinants of individuals’ decision to be informed of findings about their health, and how information about health status is used for financial decisions.

Multi-touch and keyboard/mouse devices comparison in an information search task: influence on cognitive load and task engagement

Nowadays multi-touch devices (MTD) can be found in all kind of contexts. In the learning context, MTD availability leads many teachers to use them in their class room, to support the use of the devices by students, or to assume that it will enhance the learning processes. Despite the raising interest for MTD, few researches studying the impact in term of performance or the suitability of the technology for the learning context exist. However, even if the use of touch-sensitive screens rather than a mouse and keyboard seems to be the easiest and fastest way to realize common learning tasks (as for instance web surfing behaviour), we notice that the use of MTD may lead to a less favourable outcome. The complexity to generate an accurate fingers gesture and the split attention it requires (multi-tasking effect) make the use of gestures to interact with a touch-sensitive screen more difficult compared to the traditional laptop use. More precisely, it is hypothesized that efficacy and efficiency decreases, as well as the available cognitive resources making the users’ task engagement more difficult. Furthermore, the presented study takes into account the moderator effect of previous experiences with MTD. Two key factors of technology adoption theories were included in the study: familiarity and self-efficacy with the technology.Sixty university students, invited to a usability lab, are asked to perform information search tasks on an online encyclopaedia. The different tasks were created in order to execute the most commonly used mouse actions (e.g. right click, left click, scrolling, zooming, key words encoding…). Two different conditions were created: (1) MTD use and (2) laptop use (with keyboard and mouse). The cognitive load, self-efficacy, familiarity and task engagement scales were adapted to the MTD context. Furthermore, the eye-tracking measurement would offer additional information about user behaviours and their cognitive load.Our study aims to clarify some important aspects towards the usage of MTD and the added value compared to a laptop in a student learning context. More precisely, the outcomes will enhance the suitability of MTD with the processes at stakes, the role of previous knowledge in the adoption process, as well as some interesting insights into the user experience with such devices.

Reducing Electronic Information Overload

College students receive a wealth of information through electronic communications that they are unable to process efficiently. This information overload negatively impacts their affect, which is officially defined in the field of psychology as the experience of feeling or emotion. To address this problem, we postulated that we could create an application that organizes and presents incoming content in a manner that optimizes users’ ability to process information. First, we conducted surveys that quantitatively measured each participant’s psychological affect while handling electronic communications, which was used to tailor the features of the application to what the user’s desire. After designing and implementing the application, we again measured the user's affect using this product. Our goal was to find that the program promoted a positive change in affect. Our application, Brevitus, was able to match Gmail on affect reduction profiles, while succeeding in implementing certain user interface specifications.

Exploring the benefits of using multi-touch devices in performing information search tasks: An analysis in terms of performance, cognitive load and task engagement

Over the last decade, multi-touch devices (MTD) have spread in a range of contexts. In the learning context, MTD accessibility leads more and more teachers to use them in their classroom, assuming that it will improve the learning activities. Despite a growing interest, only few studies have focused on the impacts of MTD use in terms of performance and suitability in a learning context.However, even if the use of touch-sensitive screens rather than a mouse and keyboard seems to be the easiest and fastest way to realize common learning tasks (as for instance web surfing), we notice that the use of MTD may lead to a less favorable outcome. More precisely, tasks that require users to generate complex and/or less common gestures may increase extrinsic cognitive load and impair performance, especially for intrinsically complex tasks. It is hypothesized that task and gesture complexity will affect users’ cognitive resources and decrease task efficacy and efficiency. Because MTD are supposed to be more appealing, it is assumed that it will also impact cognitive absorption. The present study also takes into account user’s prior knowledge concerning MTD use and gestures by using experience with MTD as a moderator. Sixty university students were asked to perform information search tasks on an online encyclopedia. Tasks were set up so that users had to generate the most commonly used mouse actions (e.g. left/right click, scrolling, zooming, text encoding…). Two conditions were created: MTD use and laptop use (with mouse and keyboard) in order to make a comparison between the two devices. An eye tracking device was used to measure user’s attention and cognitive load. Our study sheds light on some important aspects towards the use of MTD and the added value compared to a laptop in a student learning context.

Cognitive issues in information visualisation design for interaction for the visually impaired

This paper reports on the findings of a study on improving interaction design for visually impaired students, focusing upon the cognitive criteria for information visualisation.

The impact on students of coursework assessment deadlines and penalties

The use by students of an e-learning system that enhances traditional learning in a large university computing school where there are clear assessment deadlines and severe penalties for late submission of coursework is examined to assess the impact of changes to the deadline model on the way students use the system and on the results they achieve. It is demonstrated that the grade a student achieves is partly dependent on the time before the deadline when the work is completed - in general, students who submit earlier gain higher grades. Possible reasons for this are explored. Analysis of the data from a range of different implementations of deadline policies is presented. Suggestions are made on how to minimise any possible negative impact of the assessment policy on the student's overall learning.